Captured
by TMNT Loving Leo the Second
Summary: -"Get your hand off your arm so I can see the cut." Leo silently whimpered and shook his head, wincing silently. "Man, what did they do to you?" - Chapters will alternate from Leo's captivity to his recovery. Rated T for torture and language. 2k3'verse. Enjoy! Cover picture by me!
1. Coming Home

_A new story! The one I promised in my Sneefee One-Shots! It's not a One-Shot, though, it's a multi-chapter story! Who's excited?!_

 _*crickets chirping*_

 _Whatever. Enjoy! I'm just gonna copy and paste the flashback as the chapter in my Sneefee One-Shots, and then go from there. Reminder, I'm gonna have every other chapter alternating from Leo being in capture to his recovery. This first one is when he got out of Foot HQ and got home._

 _2k3'verse_

 _Rated T for language, torture, and other things that I will not mention. *eyes dart to side; walks away slowly*_

 _Disclaimer: I only own the plot. *grumbles*_

* * *

 _Leo sighed an exhausted sigh as he stopped to take a break from his pursuit from the Foot. He' hadn't meant to trip that alarm as he escaped from Foot HQ. He tried on instinct to feel for his Shell Cell, only to remember that it had been smashed months ago when they'd ambushed him. He held his bleeding left leg, where a shuriken had hit it. Still bleeding. Great. He also had a cut on his head, plus many other scars he'd earned over the months, and he knew he was going to get quite a few more before somehow his brothers miraculously came or he defeated all of the Foot soldiers._

 _He was sincerely hoping it was the former, because he'd probably pass out from exhaustion before he defeated the entire Foot army after him. He spotted them and started running again._

 _How the hell was he supposed to defeat over 50 soldiers AND four Elites in his already-fatigued condition?_

 _He ran and ran, but they just kept gaining on him. He finally realized that he'd have to fight them before all of his energy ran out from running, even if he wasn't happy about it. His first thought was to get the Elites, but they were all the way in the back, probably waiting until he was too tuckered out to fight them._

 _Dishonorable bitches._

 _He used his newly-found katanas to slice through the 4 ninja approaching him, and, letting out a silent battle cry, charged at the ninja._

 _He gasped in pain as someone immediately got him in the top-left bicep, but he cut through that ninja and 2 more, and kicked one in the head. He kicked 2 more in the legs, knocking them off their feet, and then stomped on their heads, cracking their skulls._

 _The screams were heard all through the block, but on one had the courage to call 911 for fear of getting somehow involved in the 'gang-war', as they thought that was what was going on._

 _Leo chuckled silently to himself of the humans' cowardice as he spun with his katanas out, killing 7 ninja on the spot. Well, not really; they'd writhe in pain for a few minutes before they actually died._

 _As Leo fought through all of the ninja, with half a mind he thought about why he hated the Foot, something he'd pondered a lot over the past few months in capture._

 _Not because they'd nearly killed him more than once._

 _Not because of their master._

 _Not because of their wanting his shell._

 _It was because they had no feeling._

 _They agreed to whatever their master told them without a second thought. And Leo hated that._

 _But sometimes he himself had felt like he was doing that to his brothers._

 _And that scared him._

 _He let his mouth open in a silent scream as a ninja threw a tanto into the back of his left leg, and he knows it tore through an artery. He decided not to yank it out, as he would most definitely bleed out without having something to stem the bleeding. And he didn't need any further damage, either, so there was that._

 _He slashed the ninjas behind him, which was about 6, and felt adrenaline leaving him. No, no, this couldn't be happening right now. He needed energy to fight._

 _But the loss of blood was seriously starting to get to him. He felt a deep cut to his lower left bicep and gasped in pain-_

 _"LEO!"_

 _Said terrapin sighed in relief as he saw Donatello on the next rooftop, staff already out. He leapt at the ninja as Leo backed into a wall, holding his massively bleeding arm. His eyes were getting heavy, but he held onto Donatello's voice telling him to stay awake as the genius fought off the ninja. Leo shook his head, but only aggravated the cut there and squeezed his sword in his left hand harder, having put his other sword back in its sheath._

 _The battle sounds finally stopped, and Leo looked up again. All of the ninja he hadn't defeated were on the ground or fire escapes, and Don was running to Leo. "Hey, Leo. Hey, stay with me. Let me see here... Ooh, this looks bad," Don muttered to himself as he looked at the back of Leo's calf. "Leo, I'm gonna take this out and spray it with disinfectant, and then wrap it. Is that OK?"_

 _Leo nodded deftly, eyes drooping._

 _"Don't fall asleep, Leo. OK, 1, 2, 3!"_

 _Leo whimpered silently as the tanto was taken out of his leg, and let a louder throaty noise escape his throat when the wound was sprayed with disinfectant and immediately started to get wrapped to stem the bleeding. He spared a glance back and saw that the bandages were already turning red._

 _"I'll have to stitch that when we get home. Leo, can you look at me?"_

 _The leader sighed and looked at his brother, who had put his katana to the side._

 _"Get your hand off your arm so I can see the cut."_

 _Leo silently whimpered and shook his head, wincing silently._

 _"Man, what did they do to you? Wait, what's this on your throat?" Don asked, gently touching a scar on his leader's throat. Leo sniffed and looked away from his brother._

 _Don gasped. "No."_

 _Leo nodded sadly, tears leaking down his mask-less face. He opened his mouth, and Don gasped at the lack of his brother's tongue._

 _Don sighed sadly and bit his lip. "Leo, I really need you to let me see your arm," he said, trying to change the subject._

 _Leo sighed and took his bloody hand off his bicep. Donatello sprayed it with disinfectant and wrapped it, and then tended to his brother's other more important wounds quickly, knowing he'd have a lot to do a lot of other wok on his brother at the Lair._

 _"Alright, big brother. Let's get you home," the genius said. Leo nodded deftly again. Maybe now things would be OK. At least better than the past few months, anyway, he thought as he and his brother made their way back to the Lair._

* * *

Leo winced silently as he was settled into a cot. Don saw the flinch and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Leo. I don't know thew extent of your injuries," Don apologized as he got a needle and thread out. Leo gasped and tried to shuffle away, only to let out a throaty noise as he strained his injuries. Don bit his lip, but before he could say anything, Mike and Raph burst in.

Mikey gasped as he saw his oldest brother and ran up to him, giving him a big hug. Leo gasped in pain, and Mikey gave a confused look as he broke the hug. He then noticed the bandages on his brother's body and whined.

"Great, now I can't hug my brother," he grumbled as Raph approached the table cautiously.

"You OK, bro?" he asked Leo. Leo nodded hesitantly.

"How much pain are you in, 1 through 10, 10 being worst?" he then asked. Leo looked at his fingers, then held them all up, and his right foot, signalling an 8.

"Why ain't ya talkin'? the hothead asked. Leo put his fingers and foot down and bowed his head.

"Raph, um, he..." Don started, before giving up on that explanation and approaching his brother. He whispered something to the eldest, and Leo lifted his head up, revealing the scar on his neck.

Mike gasped. "No! That's not fair! They can't do that to him!"

Leo nodded. He opened his mouth, and Raph growled. His brother didn't have a tongue!

"Who did dis to ya?!"

None of the younger Turtle brothers had had proof as to who had taken their brother. They'd suspected the Foot, but it could've been Bishop, or some new enemy.

Leo pointed to his foot.

"Well, that would explain why they were chasing you," Don muttered. "OK, Leo, I need to stitch your wounds. Do you want an anesthetic or something?" he then asked, taking out a needle.

At the sight of the sharp tool, Leo covered his head in a defensive way, a petrified expression on his face.

"O...K... This is gonna take a while," the genius muttered, looking at the sewing needle in his hand. "How about... we cover your eyes so you don't see it?"

Leo sighed brokenly and closed his eyes as he stood up so Don could get a good angle on the wound. The genius unwrapped the temporary bandages on his brother's leg and started to stitch the wound. Leo sucked in a breath as Don re-wrapped the disinfected wound.

Don looked at his brothers as Leo covered his ears from... something. "Maybe you guys should get some sleep or something. I'll let you know in the morning how bad his injuries are."

Raph grumbled something incoherent to Leo and Mikey smiled, waving as he left.

Don sighed and looked at his brother, who was hesitantly taking his hands off his ears. He looked at Don apologetically.

Don smiled. "It's fine, Leo. Let's get your other wounds wrapped. If you promise not to strain it too much, I won't have to stitch the wound on your arm." Leo nodded enthusiastically. Don smiled sadly and started to look at Leo's more minor wounds. "Leo, none of these are treated the right way. Some of them aren't treated at all."

Leo gave him a 'really you're surprised?' look. Don chuckled. "Alright, alright, point taken."

2 hours later, Leo was passed out on the cot in a nightmarish sleep, and Don sighed as he went to his room, making sure to keep lab door and his own open to make sure he could hear if Leo awoke or something. Leo was home, and everything would be OK, now.

Right?

* * *

 _There's the first chapter! Prologue, if you will. I hope you liked it! I love this idea so much! I love ti I love it I love it I love it and I'm done._ Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!

TMNT LLII


	2. Captured!

_New chapter! I'm in love with this plot! Enjoy! BTW, this takes place in between seasons 4 and 5, only to make Karai their enemy. Otherwise, everything to the end of the series has happened. They're just not allies. At all._

* * *

Leo sighed in relief as he finally escaped the cramped Lair. He went to a rooftop and sat down, leaning on the edge as he looked out on the street. Cars went by each other, constantly honking. He saw a woman yelling at another pedestrian for trying to get in front of her or something, and Leo rolled his eyes and seriously just spit on one of them. The woman glanced up and saw nothing, but let it go.

Leo smiled and turned toward the roof, leaning his shell on the ledge. He heard a _SHING_ and groaned, turning his head to the right and seeing a bunch of Foot ninja on the next rooftop. He unsheathed his katanas, mentally counting the ninja. 30 normal ones, he saw a few Foot Tech disappear, and the 4 Elite.

"Oh great," he droned as they all came at him at once. He slashed a few in the chest and punched a Foot Tech, knocking him out. He barely dodged a dart, and growled at the Elites, who were behind and shooting them at him. He dodged a bunch of darts as he fought the ninja, making sure that none Foot Techs got top him, either. He tried to call his brothers onhis Sell Cell at one point, but they destroyed it after they'd kicked him in the shell, knocking him forward on his plastron.

But then it all stopped. An Elite signaled for them to retreat, even though they'd seriously been beating him. He looked around confusedly, when something suddenly intruded his nose. He covered it, but he'd already breathed in the drug. He started to feel dizzy. He fought it, but as he tried to breath from his hands (Why, I'll never understand, but it works when I drive by a farm with cows) he breathed in more of the drug. His lags wouldn't let him run, and, he fell to his knees. His arms soon fell numb, as well, and he dropped his arms, letting the toxin completely intrude n his nose. His eyes drooped, and he fell forward, unconscious before he hit the rooftop. The Elite smirked under his mask as some of the Foot Techs carried the unconscious turtle towards Foot HQ.

* * *

Leo groaned and rubbed his head as he looked around. He gasped. Was he in a cell? How had he gotten here? A feeling of uneasiness overcame him, and he tried to stand up, only to gasp as he was pulled down by a chain. He looked down and saw a chain around his wrists. He growled and pulled against them, trying to see out the door that was to the right of him in the 10-foot cube of a cell. His chain was about 3 feet long.

So, he made like Elsa in _Frozen_ and stepped over the chains, having his arms behind him and looking through the plastic window that was also barred in the door. There were 2 Elite Ninja guarding the door, and he knew for a fact that there were more that he couldn't see. He sat down and face-palmed, trying to think of a way to get out of here.

Suddenly, the door opened. He turned away stubbornly as Karai walked in. "Hello, my friend."

Leo spat on her foot. "You betray me. You dishonor me and my family. You stab me. You attack my family in the sanctity of home, and you dare call me friend?"

Karai shrugged. "It seems to me that you are in no position to talk with such attitude, kind ninja," she said with a smile as she grabbed his chin. Leo ripped away from her with a growl.

"Anyways, I would bet money that you are wondering why you are here," Karai said with her soft voice, but Leo didn't fall for it anymore, having seen her true colors.

"Doesn't mean I want to be told by the likes of you," he hissed at her.

She slapped him across the face. "Do not give me lip so. I will not tolerate it. You shall be punished severely if you are to do that again."

Leo ignored the stinging in his cheek as he glared at her with bared teeth. "What'er you gonna do, cut my tongue out?"

"That can be arranged," she said with a sick smile as she left, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

 _Wow, super short chapter. I'm sorry. I didn't have a lot of time to type yesterday and my sister's friend is coming over today so I'll have more time to type later._ Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!

TMNT LLII


	3. Waking Up, Twice

_Here's the next chapter! Back to the Lair! BTW, Shredder's also dead, so... Yeah... ENJOY!_

* * *

Leo stretched with a throaty noise as he woke up from his restless slumber. He looked around and saw Don sleeping at his computer, t's still spamming whatever he'd been typing. He smiled and took a blanket from another cot and draped it over Don's shell and lifted him off the keyboard, moving the tech out of the way by putting it on top of the monitor. He smiled a small yet almost sad smile as he walked out of the lab slowly, biting back the pain in his thigh. He grabbed a crutch on the way out and went to the Lair, smiling again at the familiar haunting glow of the walls.

 _I like the cell better._

 _'I don't care,'_ Leo growled to himself as he sat on the couch with his elbow propped on the arm.

 _Well, you should, 'cuz I'm you._

 _'That's not my fault.'_

 _Kinda is._

Leo covered his ears. _'I'm not listening.'_

 _You can't block me out, you idiot._

 _'Also not my fault. And I'm very capable of blocking you out. I hear you, but I'm not listening.'_

 _THEN I'LL TALK LOUDER._

Leo covered his ears harder, scrunching his eyes shut. _'Get out. Just LEAVE.'_

 _No, your head is cozy._

Leo opened his eyes as he rolled them, before gasping and grabbing a hand that landed on his shoulder. He snapped his head around and sighed in annoyance when he saw Raph standing there.

"What're ya doin' outta the lab?" the muscled turtle asked, the blue lights casting shadows on his face. Leo smiled at the sight.

"Um?" Raph asked.

 _Idiot, answer him._

 _'I can't, thanks.'_

"Alrigh'. How 'bout ya write i'?" the red-clad teen asked, taking out a pad and pencil and handing it to Leo. The leader gave a small smile and wrote something on it, and then showed it to Raph.

'?'

"Well, OK, then."

Leo shrugged and stood up, using the crutch and taking the weight off his leg a little. He balanced on the crutch and wrote down something else.

'My room?'

"Um, sure, I'll help ya up da stairs."

Leo smiled gratefully as Raph led him to the stairs. He blushed a little bit at having to be helped, but accepted it anyway with a smile.

Raph didn't understand how his brother was smiling. He'd gone through 5 months of torture. He had his tongue cut out. He'd had his vocal cords cut out. He'd been left to rot in a cell. How was he smiling?

Leo thankfully nodded as he arrived at his room. Raph smiled sadly. "Welcome. Jus' ge' some sleep."

Leo nodded again as he limped to his bed. As soon as the door was closed and Raph was gone, though, he lay down on his pillow...

And cried.

* * *

Mike woke up and went to Leo's room to check on him. I mean, he's been in capture for 5 months and he was just by himself in his room. (Not that he'd been up and he totally hadn't seen Raph help him up the stairs...)

He knocked on the door, and he heard some shifting. "Can I come in?"

How the hell was Leo gonna answer him?

Leo got out of bed, yawning and turning over his tear-stained pillow as he went to answer the door.

Mike was standing there with a big grin plastered on his face. "Hey bro. You hungry? You look like you've lost a few pounds! How about I make a big breakfast to celebrate your homecoming?!"

Leo's stomach growled involuntarily. Mike smiled bigger. "That's what I thought. C'mon! You can help stir the batter!"

Leo gulped as Mike pulled his down the stairs, flinching as his arm wound was strained.

He didn't think he'd be able to hold all this stuff down...

* * *

 _Shortness! I'm sorry! Can't really think of anything else! I'm sorry and I'm sorry again! :( But, review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _TMNT LLII_


	4. The First Part of It

_Here's the next chapter! I'm sorry that my updates have been pretty slow lately! My DeviantArt account also has to be managed! BTW, if you haven't yet, check it out! It's called TMNT-LOVING-LEO and it's mostly edits of other pictures. Mostly screenshots. Anyway, enjoy the chappie!_

* * *

Leo sighed boredly as he sat against the wall of his cell, tapping his finger on the floor. Could they just get his torture over with? He growled and punched the wall, letting his knuckles bleed as he blew on them and put his hand back down. He still didn't even remember how he'd gotten here! He remembered spitting on someone, a SHING, some Elites and other ninja. A weird smell entered his nostrils...

"They drugged me? Why now of all times?" he muttered to himself. He looked up at the ceiling and squinted. He smirked as he spotted the camera and gave it the finger, knowing that Karai would know his intent.

A few minutes later, he heard stomping footsteps coming down he hallway and smirked. Karai came storming in with a red face. "Leonardo! I will not tolerate this kind of misbehavior!" she yelled at him with a scowl.

"And what're you gonna do about it?" he asked back mockingly. "Knock me out? Torture me? You'll do that anyway," he continued with a sneer. He stuck his tongue out at her.

Karai was fuming now. She turned to the Elites who were guarding the door. "Restrain him and get him to the testing room!" she ordered as she stormed out.

Leo smirked at the two lousy Elites that approached him. "If you think I'm coming without a fight, you're sorely mistaken. Come at me."

Unbeknownst to them, he had sucked all of the air he could into his nostrils so they couldn't drug him to some with them. The Elites pressed a button and Leo let out his air and gasped as he felt something entering his system through his wrists. His eyes lidded, although he did not fall unconscious. The Elites unchained him with another button and Leo blinked confusedly as they dragged him out of the room. He gathered his bearings as he was thrown onto a table and strapped to it by his wrists, ankles, torso, and neck.

Leo's thoughts soon returned to him due to the small amount of the drug he'd been exposed to. He blinked and looked up, seeing Karai standing there with a smirk.

He growled at her. "You bitch! Ow... You drugged me to get me in here?!" he demanded, hardly noticing as she slapped him in the face. He struggled against his restraints as he glared up at her. "What do you want with me?" he then asked in a quieter voice, though he still sneered.

"I suspect that you do not plan on revealing your family's location," she started in a muse, putting her hand on her chin. "But that does not mean I can not force it out of you. I know that you are loyal to your brothers and pathetic rat master, but surely with enough torture you will break quite easily. So, do you wish to tell me now?"

"Nothing you do can possibly make me say anything," the gear-less turtle hissed at her ferally.

"I do not believe that..." she sing-songed, grabbing a tool from behind her. She held it up, revealing a scalpel. "I will bend you until you break, Leonardo. And then you shall tell me the location of your family."

With that, she stuck the scalpel deep into his right bicep. He didn't give her the pleasure to hear him scream or even gasp in pain as she cut his entire right arm up, and then went to his left one. All of the cuts were carefully placed to make sure they weren't fatal or even deep, but hurt very badly. Leo turned away from her and fought back the tears in his eyes.

Karai finally seemed to have had her fun and cleaned the scalpel off on Leo's plastron, putting the wider sides on the end of his plastron, leaving bloodstains on it. Leo looked at is as best as he could and then growled at her, a feral look on his face.

"Dishonorable bitch. Mmph. That's gonna start leaving marks," he said indifferently as she slapped him across the face again.

"That is the point, idiot," she hissed back. "Now, I shall disinfect your wounds as painfully as possible unless you tell me where your family is."

"No."

"Very well. I will get the supplies..." she hummed as she went through the short cupboards, bending down to reach what she needed. Leo stuck out his tongue in disgust as her ass stuck out at him. He turned away as she stood back up and came towards him with alcohol and a rag.

"Hold still, Leonardo, if you want it to hurt less," she suggested, pouring the stuff in a bowl and putting the rag in it. Then, without even wringing it out, she put the wet rag on Leo's arm, and Leo hissed and glared at her. She smirked. "I told you it would be painful."

* * *

Leo was put back into his cell, drugged again, with wet and burning arms. As soon as he was in his right mind again, he gasped in pain and shook his arms, trying not to let any tears spill out as he dried his arms as best as he could while airing them at the same time. He growled to himself and stuck his tongue out at the camera.

Karai pressed a button from her end and made electricity course through Leo's chains unexpectedly. Leo growled at the camera.

 _"f I were you, I'd behave, Leonardo..."_ Karai's voice rang out from the camera. Leo blinked. He then leaned against the wall and smirked up at the camera.

* * *

 _Bad ending. I know that this wasn't really torture, per se, and that the scars all over Leo's arms weren't mentioned when Don was treating Leo's injuries. A lot of the injuries weren't mentioned because I'm just winging this story. So, deal wit' it. Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _TMNT LLII_


	5. Breakfast, Movies, and Old Horrors

_Here's the next chapter! I like what I'm doing here! It's a bit out of my comfort zone (for writing, I'm reading something about this CURRENTLY! XD) and it's enjoyable! Enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

Leo covered him mouth with his fist to try and calm his aching stomach. Mikey was doing the dishes, something Leo had tried to do but having been refused. He was sort of glad about that now, though, because he really didn't want his first day home to be spent cleaning dishes he'd have puked on.

Mike turned back to his now-mute brother with a smile. "Y'know, we should be watchin' TV right now, not doin' dishes!" he exclaimed, taking off the modified gloves and wiping any excess water on his plastron. "C'mon! I'm sure one of the guys'll do it!"

As his youngest brother pulled him to the living room, Leo briefly wondered if he had his pad and pencil Raph had earlier given him. He felt along his belt and smiled when he felt it. He relaxed a little, a bit reassured, as Mikey pulled him onto the couch, letting him put his crutch down, already surfing through channels. He stopped on a particular one and smiled bigger, somehow. "Hey, this is one of your favorites! _Frontière(s)_!"

A woman was dragging a tortures-looking man along with a chain that was connected to a collar around his neck. Leo gulped and rubbed his own neck, and Mikey chuckled sheepishly at his brother's pained expression. "Sorry about that. Next!" he exclaimed, changing the channel to _Inception_.

 _Idiot._

 _'What did I do?!'_

 _You can't show weakness in front of your brothers like that, hiretsuna (imbecile)!_

 _'Jeez louise, sorry! You SCREAMED that at me when I got back to the Lair.'_

"Hey, Leo, you like this movie, right?" Mikey's voice cut through his thoughts.

Leo nodded a small nod that Mike hardly noticed. Splinter came into the room, his cane thumping al throughout the Lair. Leo turned around and was crushed by Splinter's hug.

"My son! you have returned!" the rat exclaimed happily, not noticing Leo's wide fear-filled eyes.

 _THE TRAITOROUS RAT! HOW DID HE GET OUT OF THERE!?_

 _'I don't know!'_

Mike gulped. "I guess in all the everything that happened we forgot about Sensei!" he said uncertainly, sinking into the couch.

"Are you alright, my son? Who took you?" Splinter asked. Leo bit his lip uncertainly as he looked at Splinter, who was waiting for an answer, nervously.

"The Foot did!" Mikey exclaimed, not liking silence.

"Are you alright, my son?" Splinter asked again. Leo pointed to his throat hesitantly. Splinter raised an eyebrow, not understanding. Leo opened his mouth.

"My son! What have they done to you?!" the old rat demanded, grabbing his son's chin gently.

Leo flinched away and looked down, eyes fighting tears of fear and sadness.

 _Save it for your room!_

 _'I get it!'_

Mike put a reassuring hand on Leo's slightly trembling shoulder. "It's fine, bro."

Leo jerked away from him and stalked to his room, not being able to fight the silent tears streaming down his face as he slammed the door, his crutch long forgotten; but he hardly even registered the pain as he crawled onto his bed and sobbed for the second time in 6 hours, only to be interrupted quickly by a knock and running footsteps.

* * *

Don jerked at the sound of his father's sharp voice, and gasped as he realized no one had broken the news to Splinter. He jumped up and saw Leo stomp to his room, his stitched leg wound reopening and leaking blood already. "Guys, what the-?!" he exclaimed, grabbing Leo's crutch and some medical supplies as he ran up the stairs towards Leo's room-

But the door slammed right in front of him. He sighed as he heard soft sobbing from the other side of the door and left the medical supplies there, and knocked on the door before he left.

As he got downstairs, he heard the door open quietly, and then close. He looked at Mike and Splinter, who looked quite guilt-ridden. "What the hell happened, Mike!?" Don demanded.

"I didn't do anything! Master Splinter asked him what was wrong and Leo just stomped off!" Mike protested, trying to prove his innocence.

"Master?" Don asked for confirmation. Splinter nodded sadly. Don hummed in thought as he went up the stairs once more, where he heard bandages unwrapping. He knocked softly on the door, and he heard a sharp intake of breath. "Throw something at the door if I can come in."

 _THUMP_

"OK, then," the genius muttered, opening the door and seeing Leo's somewhat cleaned tear-stained face. "Hey, Leo," he said, sitting next to his leader on the bed. Leo glanced at him and kept rewrapping his bleeding calf, his crutch on the edge of the bed that faced the wall.

"Um, so..." Don began, trying to find the right words, "why'd you run out on Mike and Splinter?"

Leo jerked at the rat's name, and his eyes closed for a few seconds as if he was in pain, while he was really trying to block out the voice in his head.

 _HE IS A TRAITOROUS RAT!_

 _'I know, I know!'_

Leo shrugged in response to Donnie's question. Don's eyebrow rose suspiciously. "Really." He grabbed the pad and pencil out of Leo's belt. "You write, I'll wrap. Got it?"

Leo shook his head, finishing the wrapping and smirking in Don's direction. Don ground his teeth together. "OK..." he said in a dangerously low tone, and Leo gasped, recognizing it as Karai's 'you-are-in-for-a-lot-of-trouble' voice, and shrunk into the wall, knees at his chest. Don sighed and scooted next to his trembling brother. "Leo, I'm sorry," he said softly, reaching a hand out to his brother's arm. But Leo jerked away as soon as he made contact, and Don hummed.

"Was it Master Splinter?" Don asked, and Leo flinched once more at the name and nodded hesitantly. "What did he do?"

Leo took the offered pad and pencil and scribbled something down, not in his usual neat handwriting. He showed it to Don, who gasped at the answer.

 _'He tried to kill me.'_

* * *

 _A cliffhanger of sorts?_ ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ _Did anyone like it? Eh? Check out my contest entry One-Shot on DeviantArt! It's called Leo's Tragedy! Go on! I know you're thinking about it! Remember, my username is TMNT-LOVING-LEO! Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _TMNT LLII_


	6. Drugged

_Here's the next chapter! Foot HQ! BTW, the only reason Leo's brothers haven't stormed Foot Tower yet is because they don't know for sure if Le's there, and are very much interrogating everyone they can find. Of course, there aren't that many Foot on patrol lately... Enjoy!_

* * *

Leo groaned as he woke up once again in his prison cell. He'd been keeping time by the clock that they'd for some reason placed in the cell, and someone came in every day to scratch off a day on the calendar. What was the point of this? To make sure he knew how long he'd been stuck in this hell-hole?

Yeah, that was probably it.

The door opened, as it had 3 times before, once a day, to have a ninja give him a piece of bread and a small glass of water. He always inspected the items to make sure they weren't drugged or poisoned, but each day they came out clean, so he ate the small meal he was provided each day. They obviously didn't want to starve him to death, but they wanted him to be ridiculously hungry.

Great.

What confused him the most was that he hadn't been pulled from the room for any more torture. He nibbled on the bread in thought. Karai had obviously wanted to make him suffer, but the only thing he was suffering from was the slight sting on his arms and homesickness.

He sighed. He missed his brothers. They'd all been held prisoner in Foot HQ at some point, but there had always been another brother with them. And while he was partly glad they weren't here to go through this torture as well, but also knew that if they didn't get him out of here soon, they might find a way to break him and make him tell them where their home was easier. Much easier. He groaned at the thought. He didn't want to be a crumbling mess if he got home.

When, he reminded himself. When.

He banged his head on the wall when the door opened, starting to feel the smallest bit woozy as a ninja came in with a remote, and something behind his back. Leo started struggling against the lone ninja, only to realized that something was being injected into his bicep in a very quickly placed vein. His eyes got heavy and he lost any strength he had left from his already-weakened-because-of-hunger body. He slumped in the ninja's arms heavily, making the ninja squeak for his comrades before he were to collapse under the turtle's weight.

Leo was drowsily led to a room and thrown into it, injected with something else, and was locked in, the barricade between him and the guards outside being a large metal door that the strongest of warriors couldn't penetrate. The first drug wore off before the second one took effect and he looked around at the room. It looked like a doctor's office, almost. Except there were way too many needles for it to be a normal doctor... He looked them over, not noticing as his vision got slightly blurry, because it wasn't enough to really tell unless you were looking for the blurriness. He looked over the needles, only to realize that all of them were empty and the would-be contents were up on a shelf that he couldn't reach by a long shot. He grumbled.

Even the Foot had to mock that he was shorter than Raphael.

The blurriness became worse, and he finally noticed it. He shook his head and leaned against the wall tiredly. Another drug? Why? Why make him pass out in this room instead of his cell?

He soon realized that he wasn't going to pass out any time soon and looked around, waiting for whatever was going to happen to happen. He suddenly heard a thump and saw a figure a few feet from him, He jerked back in surprise.

"Mikey?!" he exclaimed after blinking a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing something else.

The figure chuckled. "'Ey, bro..." he muttered.

Leo ran over and hugged his brother. "Mikey! Wait, how did you get here?!"

"They got me yesterday when I was on a lone patrol looking for you..."

Leo let go of his brother and stepped back. "Why were you on a lone patrol when one of us was captured! You know that we're not supposed to go on lone patrols when someone's missing!" he exclaimed. None of his brothers would ever break this rule, even Raphael. He took another step back as Mikey tried to defend himself by saying that he had been worried.

"You... You're not real. You're one of Karai's tricks!" the gear-less turtle exclaimed with a snarl.

"What! No!" 'Mike' exclaimed, putting his hands out, but Leo growled and kicked him away. The impostor was sent into the counter with all of the needles, and Leo shook the drug away from his head somewhat and the image of a Foot ninja flickered in his vision. He snarled again and went over, kicking the unconscious ninja again.

"Your tricks won't work on me, Karai!" he yelled at the ceiling.

Karai, from the control room, snapped, signaling an Elite to switch to Plan B. The Elite bowed and got a syringe from a compartment Karai directed him to, and went to the room Leonardo was in.

Leo jerked up when he saw the door open, and ran for it, his thoughts not completely human because the drug he'd previously been injected with was going to its secondary purpose: to unhinge him a bit so the next plan could be put into action.

The Elite put a strong arm out, blocking Leo and knocking the wind out of him. Leo coughed, noticing the next needle in his skin. Somewhere deep in his mind, he joked about being killed by overdose.

The Elite sent him back into a wall by kicking him over and left, closing and locking the door once more. Leo slumped against the wall, a groan escaping his lips as he lost consciousness.

* * *

 _I really want to continue this chapter right now but I have to update something! The next chapter is still going to be in this room. It'll be like a two-part episode! And the story itself is the series? Anyway, hope you like! Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _TMNT LLII_


	7. Drugged, Part 2

_Here's the next chapter! Still in Foot HQ because that's what I said in the last chapter! Enjoy!_

* * *

Leonardo looked around at the Lair. When had be gotten back here? He looked at his oldest younger brother in the dojo, and...

Um, was that HIM?!

He blinked and ran over, reaching out to touch Raph's shoulder. "Guys, what's going - huh?!" he muttered as his hand went through Raph's shoulder.

Hold on a second. He remembered this. This was his and Raph's first sparring match with real weapons! Not knowing what else to do, he leaned against the wall to watch.

Raphael attacked first, immediately swinging at Leo with his sais. Leo dodged out of the way and met Raphael's attack with his katanas as Raph pushed against him with the red-hilted sais. Raph suddenly growled, surprising the older Leonardo, and kicked his brother in the stomach.

Wait, this wasn't how he remembered it...

Leo was stunned by the kick, giving Raphael an open window to slice him in the face with his sai. Leo gasped in pain as Raph roundhoused him and sent Leo flying into the wall. Leonardo's mind started to copy this over the other memory, but he gasped and fought it painfully.

Splinter looked over the duel. "Good job, Raphael. Get up, Leonardo!" the rat exclaimed. The younger Leo scrambled up, face still bleeding. Don and Mike snickered from where there sparring match had finished.

Young Leo bowed to the rat. Splinter growled and kicked the young turtle. "Dismissed!"

Leonardo blinked. Was that really how it had happened? No way. But he was seriously starting to believe it.

 _'No, Leonardo,'_ he thought as he closed his eyes. _'It's just one of Karai's tricks. They would never do that.'_

 _'Right?'_

Leo shook his head violently. "Of course they wouldn't!"

The memory started to fade, as did Leo.

"What on-?"

* * *

Leo woke up in his cell, a major headache setting in. "Owwwwm!" he groaned, grabbing his head. The memory suck in his head, although he forgot visiting it again and just remembered it.

"No, no, it was just a trick. Your mind games won't work on me, Karai!" he yelled at the camera.

Karai smirked from the control room. "Oh, just you wait, Leonardo."

* * *

Leo was left in the cell once again to ponder over whether or not that had been real. He refused to eat, despite the Elite demanding it of him and kicking him. He just bared his teeth at the human until it left.

Karai more frequently visited his cell to sometimes deliver the untouched food and talk to him, something Leo refused to participate in. Karai was a pain in the ass. That was the only thing he would respond to her questions with.

Karai was beginning to get fed up with the fact that Leonardo was hardly being affected by the drug she'd administered into his system by the food. He hadn't eaten, so that could be why, but how would her plan work if she couldn't get the drug into his system full-time? She needed this to be so so that he experienced the hallucinations during the night, as well as whenever he was unconscious, for that matter.

One day, she came in with a bigger meal; a piece of cheese pizza and a small bottle of juice. Leo glared at her suspiciously. "What's the catch?" he asked without preamble.

"Nothing. I just would feel absolutely _awful_ if you were to die of starvation," she mocked, a fake pout on her face.

Leo rolled his eyes, rubbing the marks on his wrists from the chains. Karai noticed and smirked. "Fine, I shall make a bargain with you. You shall be able to move freely around your cell without chains if you eat the food and behave."

"And what, pray tell, would 'behaving' mean?" he asked her curiously.

"Not giving me the finger, for one," the mistress muttered darkly. "You will eat your food and not talk back to me."

"I will guarantee one of those alone. You pick."

"You are to eat your food!" she yelled at him.

Leo sighed. "Fine. I don't know why you're so eager for me to be alive."

Karai smiled sadistically. "What would be the fun in you not?" she asked, dropping the tray at his feet and holding up a key. "I will release you if you promise not to attack me. If you do, you shall be drugged and shocked."

Leo snarled at her. "Whatever."

Karai smirked and unlocked Leo's chains. Leo clenched his fists and restrained himself from attacking the woman as she left, locking the door. As soon as her footsteps faded away, he dove for the pizza and tried to eat it slowly while rubbing his raw wrist gently, trying not to rip the delicate skin he'd acquired in the past few days. His 'memory trick', as he called it, had been 3 days ago.

He nibbled on his pizza confusedly, trying to make sense of the bargain he'd struck with Karai. Why did she want him eating so bad? The food wasn't drugged; he'd checked again before he'd dug in. So what did she want? He settled on the fact that she needed him alive to torture him.

But seriously?

He sighed, taking a drink of the orange juice. Good thing this was what he got oranges; the lack of sunlight he was getting would be sure to give him scurvy over time. He smiled at the thought of being to irritable to deal with Karai. He then bristled at the thought.

He'd rather not.

* * *

 _Bad ending, but who cares?_ ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ _I hope you all like this! I promise that the next chapter will be back in the Lair where we find out what 'Splinter' did to Leo! I'll give anyone who guesses what kind of venom Karai's using on Leo will get to put a request in for a One-Shot. Bonus: If you can get the book series, you get a two-shot! Remember, you only get one guess! Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _TMNT LLII_


	8. What Happened?

_Here's the next chapter! My everything just got deleted! I have to retype this entire chapter! So, I might not have it up before I leave to visit my grandparents tomorrow. I'll be gone for two weeks and there will be no updates! Whatsoever! I apologize! Enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

"What do you mean, Leonardo?!" Don demanded, trying and failing to keep his voice down. Leo flinched. He'd heard this tone of voice more than once from his brothers, and from Karai.

Leo scribbled something into his pad, shaking to restrain himself. From something alien that he shouldn't have been feeling. 'He did'

"Liar!"

'NO'

"Yes!"

'NO NO NO'

"What the hell did they do to you there, Leo? Answer that much, at the very least!"

Leo scowled at the genius, making the latter jerk away, and Leo looked away from him as he wrote something into the pad.

'Cut me beat me tainted memories'

"Well, that's it, obviously! They made you think that Splinter attacked you!"

'NO!'

"Yes, that's it!"

'LETMEEXPLAIN'

"Whatever."

'They took me into this weird room whenever they messed with my memories. There was never anything about Splinter there'

"But he didn't do anything to you!" Don retorted.

'HE DID'

"Fine! Think whatever you want! Try and reason with yourself! I'm out!" Don yelled, stomping out with a frustrated yell.

Leo leaned back against the wall. Splinter was just the same as always. An abusive rat that had taught them ninjutsu. He'd just finally snapped and tried to kill him while he was in the Foot's hands. Something seemed wrong about that, but something else soon butted through his consciousness.

 _He's a liar!_

 _'Well, maybe not. He's smarter than I am-'_

 _He's also experimented on you, lied countless times, and nearly killed you with his staff many times!_

 _'Still...'_

 _No! No still! Just deal with the fact that that rat tried to kill you! Sadly, you can't kill him, because that would raise a bit of attention to yourself, but you can avoid him and treat him unkindly!_

 _'Without my brothers, I guess, yeah...'_

 _Then quit your pity party! You have no right to act like this just because you were captured by the Foot! This is the same that you have always dealt with!_

 _'OK, OK, I'll go.'_

Leo stood up, grabbing his crutch just because Don would be on his case again if he didn't. He didn't understand why he needed to have a crutch when there was only a stitched cut on his calf. He'd grabbed it himself so-

He blinked, chucking it at the wall. He didn't have a reason to have that damn thing.

He walked out of his room, favoring his left leg as he sat down on the couch. He could hear Don fuming in the lab, Raph's pounding on the punching bag instead of him for once, and Mikey in the kitchen. He assumed Splinter was in his room meditating. He grabbed the remote and clicked it, trying to find something. He glanced at the clock. How was it already 1? Usually, he mused, Splinter would be watching his soaps-

"My son?"

Leo fell backwards off the couch in surprise. He let out a groan that came out more a sigh with his lack of vocal cords. Splinter stood over him, and he bared his teeth at the rat, hand unconsciously squeezing the remote still in his hand. Splinter drew back a bit. "I apologize, Leonardo," he said, offering the young turtle a hand. Leo swatted it away with a scowl as he sat up, rubbing his head. "I was simply going to ask you if you were watching anything. If not, my soaps are on, and I wish to know what Deborah's current relationship status is with John," Splinter explained.

Leo chucked the remote at Splinter's chest as if it had bit him and got up himself, despite the pain in his _everywhere,_ and left with a snarl on his face. Splinter sighed as he sat on the couch, changing the channel with a thoughtful look on his face. He'd tried to act normal with his son, having been told by Donatello what Leonardo thought, but that had obviously failed.

Leo went into the kitchen, where Mikey was facing away from him and shaking his turtle ass at a song in his head. Leo sat silently at the table, waiting for Mikey to notice him. He definitely trusted Mikey the most out of his family. While he sometimes teased him, he was by far the kindest, but that could be because he just never his Leo. The others often hit him and made him feel physical and emotional pain in general, but Mikey always let up easily and tried to get his brothers to stop teasing their leader even if it was sometimes futile.

Leo sat in his chair looking around at the comforting familiarity of the kitchen. Mikey turned around and nearly had a heart attack, grabbing his chest as he screamed. Leo immediately stood up and helped his youngest brother up. Mike chuckled a bit. "Hey, bro. Didn't see ya there."

 _"Sorry,"_ Leo mouthed.

"It's fine. I guess you'd be better at this whole stealth thing than before..." he joked. Leo frowned and shook his head. "Not the time. Got it."

Leo chuckled silently and shook his head, helping his brother back up. The mute turtle grabbed a soda from the fridge and sat back down at the table, scribbling something into the pad. 'What r u doing?'

"Just rearranging a few cupboards. The guys'll kill me, but who cares?" the hyper turtle chuckled. Leo frowned at the idea. Then he smiled. 'Can I help?' he wrote, despite knowing that it would not end well for either of them. Better him than Mikey.

"Sure! Here, hold these!" the younger terrapin exclaimed, handing Leo a few bowls. "I've been making sure to keep the bowls with the bowls and cups with cups, but I have no idea what kind of cans I've been putting in the cupboards with them!" Leo smiled and handed a few of the bowls back to Mikey's expectant hands.

Once they were done, a familiar feminine voice rang out from the elevator. "Hi, guys!"

Leo smiled. He hadn't seen April and Casey in months! He walked to the entrance of the kitchen and stuck his head out. April and Casey were just the same as he remembered. Two of the only kind humans that had accepted him and his family. April was a kind woman that helped them get food and had medical training, and Casey was a bonehead who was also Raph's best friend, but was still nice.

April spotted him ducking back into the kitchen, and blinked. "Leo?" she whispered, walking over. Leo blushed shyly. What if they were mad at him for disappearing?

April barreled into the mute turtle. "Leo! It's really you!" she exclaimed happily as Casey followed her in. He patted the eldest turtle on the shoulder affectionately.

"Glad ta see ya back, buddy," he said. Leo smiled at them brightly, brighter than any of his brothers had seen him since he'd gotten back.

 _'It's good to be back.'_

* * *

 _April and Casey will be told of Leo's current condition, but it will be off-screen, because I can't fit that into a chapter! I'm going to Florida tomorrow! Well, I'm starting my drive there, anyway. My uncle will be with us the entire time because he sprained his ankle a few weeks ago and he's not able to go to work, and I'm gonna play chess with him! :D I love playing chess, but my sisters suck at it and I always use the same exact strategy on them! And always win, no matter what! Anyways, Leo's mind really got twisted in there! That contest on the previous chapter is still up. Again, only one guess! Guess the book and you get an extra chapter to your One-Shot! I hope you all liked this!_ _Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _TMNT LLII_


	9. Water

_Here's the next chapter! Back at Foot HQ! Also, ALSO, the only reason that the guys haven't stormed it is because if Leo isn't there, then it'd be a waste of time and would probably hinder them too much and it'd delay them from finding him. Enjoy! Also, remember, Leo doesn't remember necessarily visiting his memories, they're just different in his head now. And he might think about each memory just a little bit more... *chuckles nervously*_

* * *

 _Leo looked at the new memory. He smiled. He liked this one. They were 6 years old (he was 7) and it was Halloween and he and Mikey were getting back at their brothers for a prank on Mikey. Mikey fake collapsed... Raph started chasing them... Raph actually started beating him..._

 _...What?_

 _The memory was burned into his head, overriding what he'd expected as Raphael tacked him and started punching him, giving him a black eye, a bloody lip, and a nearly purple face. His younger self tried not to shed any tears as they walked to the Lair. His younger self glanced at Mike, who also had a black eye. He gave a small smile, and Mikey returned it, but then they both frowned when Raph and Don looked back at them._

 _The older Leonardo shuddered at the memory, grateful when it faded._

* * *

 _He then found himself fighting with Raphael again._

 _"You are such a son of a bitch, Leo! I din't do notin'!" Raph yelled at his brother, who narrowed his eyes at him._

 _"Actually, you went out,_ against Splinter's orders _, and got yourself drunk last night!" the leader retorted._

 _Don and Mike rolled their eyes from the couch. Their big brothers were at it. Again._

 _"Yeah, well, I'm fine now, ain' I?! I din't hurt no one, ya fucka!" the hothead yelled._

 _Leo rolled his eyes. "Oh, you're going to use_ that _insult again! You really need to practice your delivery!"_

 _"_ I'mma practice throwin' ya inta the riva in a minute! _" Raph screamed, going to punch his brother. Leo blocked the strike._

 _Raph screamed again and kicked Leo in the torso, causing Leo to grunt in pain. He took out his sai and swiped it across Leo's face, leaving a slice across his beak. He then sliced Leo's plastron and it was just deep enough to draw blood. Leo gritted his teeth in pain and, forgetting any plan to retaliate or defend himself, back-flipped away from the scene and ran to the surface, making his way to April's apartment for medical treatment._

 _The older Leo rubbed his head. He'd always thought that scar came from a Foot ninja..._

* * *

Leo woke to a kick to the head. He growled up at the Elite Ninja with a taser and a remote. "Wow. They only send one now? Karai's losing her touch," he joked with a wry smile. He kicked the Elite in the shin in retaliation, only to get shocked by his chains. He rolled his eyes. "That didn't tickle," he said, quoting Raph from their training with the Tribunal. He then frowned. He didn't feel like thinking about his hotheaded brother right now. The fight between him and Raphael was replaying over and over in his mind for some reason. And that Halloween all those years ago, too...

"Get up," the Elite ordered, "or we'll drug you."

Did Leo want to go willingly? No. But it'd be nice to be able to comprehend where he was going and get one step closer to formulating an escape plot. He got up, scowling at the Elites as they led him down the hall, hands behind his back. He looked around.

2 doors, one on the right of him about 5 yards from his cell, and another on his left, about 12 yards from his cell. He was thrown into a different room, and his hands were actually tied behind his carapace and he was left there, by himself.

Water suddenly began pouring out of the ceiling. Leo snarled. "Nice. What is this, some kind of test?!" he demanded, knowing that there was a camera somewhere here. "See how long I can hold my breath?!"

 _"You are smarter than you let on, freak,"_ Karai's voice rang out from a small microphone in the ceiling Leo had to squint to see.

"Bitch," he shot back, only to notice that the water was filling up quicker. "Great."

 _"But it is not to see how long you can hold your breath. It is to see how long you will last with no breath in your lungs."_

The water was already ankle deep. He blew a raspberry as it sped up. "So NOW I can die?" he asked sarcastically.

 _"No, you shall be revived if you do not revive yourself. I have not had even the beginning of my fun yet."_

Leo rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered, sitting down on his knees. Maybe he could use the Healing Hands Splinter had taught him a few weeks before he'd gotten captured. Then again (BTW THIS IS MADE UP...!), if he did it wrong, he could very well have hallucinations, or simply pass out, and he certainly didn't need that. He didn't actually think hat Karai cared if he died. On his knees, the water was now at the bottom horizontal line on his plastron.

It was worth a shot.

But he would wait until he was completely submerged. No need to take a risk like that unless it was time.

He stood up as the water made its way to his chin, huffing. Could they get this over with? He smirked and blew another raspberry at the camera. The water poured in even faster.

Karai hummed from the control room. This turtle was toying with her. Even he wasn't stupid enough to sit down in the rising water that had no signs of stopping...

Right?

She hadn't put anything else in his system this-

She smirked. Perfect.

She whispered something to a nearby Elite, who curtly nodded and repeated it to the person controlling the water. The latter nodded and poured the invisible, scentless substance into the water. So much as a drop of this in Leo's mouth would make him hallucinate for sure. He didn't even have to swallow it.

He should know; he'd created it!

But he was aiming for more than a drop, and he was sure Karai was, as well.

Leo spit out the water that had suddenly lurched up hurriedly out of his mouth, coughing. That wasn't supposed to happen. He was now treading the water a foot off the ground. The water was going up about a centimeter a second now. That was two feet per minute. The room was only about 10 feet tall. He only had about a minute left. He accidentally swallowed a bit of water, and coughed again. His vision started to blur, and he growled. Time for the Healing Hands. He couldn't let them trick him.

"Rin. Pyo. Toh. Sha," he muttered to himself, doing the hand motions under the water. "Kai. Jin. Retsu. Zai. Zen." He kept chanting the prayer, doing at as many times as he could until he was completely submerged in the water. He held his breath, finally panicking the smallest bit.

Karai smashed her hand on the control board. "What is that idiot doing?!" she demanded.

After half an hour, Leo's lungs started to burn. He'd never been great at holding his breath. Mike could hold his breath for almost 50 minutes. He breathed out before he could stop himself. He choked, swimming towards the door and tried opening it, but his vision blurred again. No, not now! His vision darkened around the edges as his lungs begged for oxygen.

Leo finally couldn't take it and passed out, wondering briefly if Karai had actually meant what she'd said.

* * *

 _This seems as good a place as any to end. Hope you all enjoyed! I'll be starting school on Wednesday, so my updates will be slower than usual. I apologize in advance for any issues. Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _TMNT LLII_


	10. Attack

_Here's the next chapter! Back at the Lair, yay! Enjoy! Y'know, I'm really surprised that no one's asked any questions about what's happening. Like the voice... And, no one's taken a guess to what the drug's based off of in what book series? Hint: It's a trilogy. And the drug is modified into what I sort of have on here in the third book._

* * *

"MIKEY!"

That was what Leo heard from the living room where he was watching an old Justice Force cartoon with said brother the next day. Mikey immediately leapt behind the couch, and Leo jumped in front of his approaching brothers, a bit fearfully. Raph already had a raised fist, ready to pound Mikey, and Don had his staff out, just as pissed. "Move it, Leo!" Raph exclaimed, attempting to step around his elder brother.

Leo shook his head.

"Leo..." Raph growled threateningly, not completely aware of Leo's little issue.

Well, then again, none of them were.

Leo looked ready to back down, controlled fear in his eyes, something Raph didn't notice. But instead, the blue-clad turtle pushed his brothers back a few paces. He then pointed to himself, hoping they'd understand his meaning.

 _'I helped.'_

 _Don't admit that to them, you idiot! They'll pummel you!_

 _'Well, it's better than them pummeling Mikey.'_

 _..._

 _'Good, now shut up and let me handle this.'_

Don rose an eye-ridge at Leo's signal. "What?"

Leo pointed to himself again, fear dissipating a little at the fact that they were actually listening. But it was quickly replaced with more fear, knowing what was coming to him for helping Mikey in this little prank.

 _"I helped,"_ he mouthed helpfully.

Raph growled lowly. "Step. Aside."

Leo shook his head. Raph's fists clenched harder, digging his nails into his skin as they started to rise, and Leo shielded his face out of new instinct.

Don grabbed Raph from behind and dragged the stunned turtle to his lab, leaving Leo and Mikey by themselves.

Leo looked out from his protective shield confusedly. Raph hadn't hit him? Why?

Mikey came up behind Leo and pulled him back onto the couch. They sat down and Leo's surprised face turned to one of relief. He was OK, Mikey was OK, they were fine. His head sunk into his hands, tears of relief threatening to spill. Mikey rubbed comforting circles on his brother's carapace.

* * *

"What the hell are you thinking?!" Don demanded, uncharacteristically shoving Raph into the wall.

Raph grunted, wiping the cement dust of his carapace. "Whadda ya mean?"

"I _mean_ ," Don hissed, slamming the lab door, "our eldest brother was captured by our hated enemy for 5 months, and you raising your fists at him!? He thinks Splinter tried to kill him! He was fucking _scared_ of you back there, for God's sake, but you were to damn _pissed_ to fucking care! We can't just expect him to be normal after all that mental torture, you hothead!" Don reprimanded loudly, poking Raphael's plastron heatedly.

Raph's jaw dropped, and Don slapped him, lost in anger, closing the hothead's jaw. Raph composed himself somewhat, stepping away from his genius brother as he sat on a cot, eyes downcast. "I'm sorry," he said simply.

"Yeah, well, I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, Raphael," Don retorted, crossing his arms.

"How da hell am I supposed ta apologize ta him, Don? 'I'm sorry I almost hit you'? I hit him tons of times befo' he was captured; why apologize now?"

"Because he looked like he thought he was actually about to beaten. He was terrified, Raph. I'm not gonna make you apologize, but I'm going to ask you to act better around him. Less intimidating, I guess. I'm gonna try to see what they did to him. Can you send him in here?"

"Whateva," Raph conceded, walking out. He stopped short, seeing Leo leaning against Mikey, who was still trying to console him. The orange-clad turtle was whispering comforting words to their eldest brother, who sat up when Raph walked into the room. Raph gave a small smile to his older brother, who eyed him warily before smiling a bit.

 _What are you DOING?_

 _'...Smiling...?'_

 _Don't smile at the guy who's beat you to near death!_

 _'He didn't hit me this time, though...'_

Leo's smile faded the smallest bit.

Raph pointed back toward the lab. "Uh, Don wants ta see ya. Somethin' about findin' somethin' out about what dey did ta ya at Karai's."

Leo flinched at the mention of the kunoichi's name.

 _Don't do it!_ was screamed at him from his head.

 _'But maybe he's for real this time...'_

 _You're too hopeful, you idiot! He's going to experiment on you just like every time you say that!_

 _'Shut up. I'm going.'_

 _Your funeral._

 _'Aren't you the one that's always saying that you're me even though you're really not?'_

 _I am. You created me._

 _'Well go away! I don't want you!'_

 _Only you can send me away,_ the voice sing-sung as Leo went to the lab hesitantly.

 _'That's what I'm trying to do!'_

 _Too bad, so sad._

Leo ground his teeth as he walked into the lab, confusing his genius brother.

"Um, Leo?"

Leo snapped his head up, remembering where he was. He gave a weak smile and sat down on a cot without straps. Don constantly went on about cots having straps in case someone had a seizure or something like that, but Leo knew the real reason.

Don smiled at his elder brother. Leo pursed his lips, waiting for a reason to run or stay.

"I just want to ask a few questions, Leo. About what they did to you in Foot HQ."

Leo nodded sadly, taking out his notepad.

"First off, what kind of memories did they taint in the room they took you to?" Don asked, clipboard out to record the blue-clad turtle's answers.

Leo wrote something into his notepad and showed it to Donnie. 'sparring - fights - things like that'

Don scribbled this down. "And is that all they did?"

Leo shook his head. 'She cut my arms up and didnt treat them right, and if i was sleeping when they came up they'd kick me awake, and they beat me if i fought, and . . yeah thats pretty much all they did'

Don hummed as he copied this down. "So, what did Master Splinter do to you?" he asked casually. Maybe Leo wouldn't answer, thinking back to when he'd denied the fact yesterday.

Leo bit his lip, shaking his head. 'Not now'

Don sighed. "Alright. Can I take a blood sample to see what drug they put in you?"

Leo covered his arms defensively, thinking back to all the times Donatello had experimented on him.

 _I TOLD you!_

 _'Yeah, but I don't like you!'_

 _Whatever._

Leo shook his head at Don and looked at the floor. Don hummed. "Why?" he asked. Maybe this would help him understand what else had happened to his elder brother. Obviously, he either wasn't telling him something, or he didn't know.

Leo glared at his genius brother. _'You're the one who's at fault for my fear!'_ he mentally yelled at him as a pain made its way into his head. He grabbed it as his thoughts started to become a haze. It was Donatello that had put this fear of so much as needles! Donatello who had cut him and taken his blood and strapped him to tables just as Bishop had those years ago to keep them from moving or struggling. Donatello who had tested several different drugs and mixtures on _him._

He didn't comprehend Don's questions. The hand on his shoulder, shaking him. His thoughts turned towards a menacing and dark path as his vision turned red.

He tackled Donatello. No more thoughts. No more emotions other than anger.

Don screamed.

* * *

 _Cliffhanger! I reread the end just now and realized it sounds like the end of a chapter in The Ghost Within, a fic that I just read a few weeks ago. It was a subconscious action, I apologize if anyone finds too many similarities! If too many people complain, I'll try to change it a little bit! Anyway, what's wrong with Leo? What kind of drug did they put into Leo that is based off of what drug in what book? School starts tomorrow! BLEGH!_ _Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _TMNT LLII_


	11. Attack, Pt 2

_Here's the next chapter! OK, so, I decided that, since the Foot HQ got a 'two-part episode', the Lair should, as well. Just to get it back on track. Heh, heh. Anyways, here we are! Next chapter, still in the Lair! Enjoy!_ _Also, DeviantArt blocked my account until my birthday because I accidentally put the wrong number for my birthdate, so if anyone was watching my account, it will not be active until my birthday next July. It's not my fault, it's DeviantArt's! They won't even let me get my email back at the very LEAST!_

* * *

Raph's head snapped up when he heard Don's scream through the open lab door. Mikey glanced at him and shot up, grabbing Raph and running to the lab to see what was wrong. Raph's legs finally worked and he followed after his little brother. They both skidded to a stop when they saw the scene before them. Leo had tackled their genius brother and looked right about ready to rip him apart. Don was staring right back at Leo, apparently having quickly recovered from the shock.

He was thinking about the insanity in his brother's eyes. What had the Foot done to him?

Leo didn't even notice the other two turtles' arrival. The only thing he registered was the voice in his head.

 _Kill him, Leonardo!_

He wasn't hesitant to obey. But before he could, he felt someone wrap their arms around him.

No, no. Why wasn't Donatello dead? He didn't compute the voices telling him to stop.

Raph grabbed Leo from Don, who sighed in relief once the eldest turtle was far enough away. Leo snarled and fought against Raph, who had his arms pinned behind his back.

"Raph, what are you doing?!" Don demanded once he'd stood up. "Don't restrain him like that!"

"What?! Don, he fuckin' attacked ya!"

At the small distraction, Leo busted out of Raph's hold and charged at Don again. Don dodged out of the way hastily, tripping over a stray needle and falling over. Leo grinned madly and tackled him again. Mike tried his turn at getting Leo and did as Raphael did. But instead of putting Leo's hands behind his back, he hugged him from behind. Leo's eyes widened as his arms were pinned to his sides.

"It's OK, Leo," Mike started. "There's nothing to be afraid of. You know where you are, right?"

Leo hung his head in defeat, nodding. The glazed over insanity stayed in his eyes, though, as Mike continued.

"You know you're safe? You're here with me, and Raph, and Donnie," Mike continued.

Leo snarled again at the mention of the other two turtles. He thrashed against his brother's hold a bit weakly, his energy spent on his previous attack. Raph and Don watched from a distance, hesitant to disturb their brother's spell.

"They're not going to hurt you. I'm not going to hut you, no one within the sewers is going to hurt you. No one ever did hurt you. There's nothing to be afraid of, bro."

Leo's glare softened the smallest bit. His glazed-over eyes switched to just clouded as he looked at the ground.

"Breathe, Leo," Mike reminded. Leo nodded deftly again and took in a breath of air. Mike smiled. Leo sighed something, his lips moving even though no sound came out, obviously.

"Can I trust you enough to let go?" Mike asked cautiously. He wasn't completely sure what he was doing. His partial listening to Don's science rants seemed to be paying off. And the small amount of research he'd done in the day Leo had been back while his family was asleep. Judging on Leo's behavior since he'd gotten back, he figured he was a bit unstable.

Leo shook his head at the question. He didn't trust himself. His thoughts were still jumbled and he didn't know what he'd do without some kind of restraint or anchor on him to keep him from attacking the others.

"OK. Just remember that you're safe, and no one is going to hurt you," Mike repeated. Leo nodded sadly as his mind tried to return to its normal state. The voice in his head wasn't helping, though.

 _Just get out of his hold and kill the purple one!_

 _'I... I can't.'_

 _Do it!_

Leo shook his head again with his eyes scrunched closed as his hands grabbed Mikey's arms, ready to rip them off. But they just stayed there, taking in his youngest brother's support.

Raph and Don took a few silent steps towards the door while Mikey tried to calm his brother down. Leo spotted them out of the corner of his partially open eye. He looked away before he could lose his temper again.

Voice still wasn't helping.

 _You can freaking catch the off guard! Do it! Now! Or I will make your life more of a living hell than what it already is!  
_

 _'Shut the hell up!'_

Leo snarled again, lost in his mind. He blinked as his mind finally cleared. His eyes turned back to their aware state. He looked around, trying to place why he was here-

Don.

He hadn't meant it.

He hadn't done it.

It was _him_ who had hurt his brother.

He'd made a vow that no matter how bad they got, he'd never hurt them.

He'd broken that promise.

And all it had taken was a few minutes.

He choked out a sob, falling to his knees and taking Mikey with him as he dislodged his arms from Mikey's hold and covered his face with his hands. Mikey gave him a more non-restricting hug.

"It's OK, Leo. It's all gonna be fine," Mikey soothed gently.

Leo shook his head.

 _'No, it wont.'_

* * *

 _There! Leo's killing himself inside now and everyone's questions are answered with_ ** _more_** _questions! It's amazing what an idiotic mind like mine can do! :) So, who liked it? I did a lot of research for this chapter and only ended up using like two things. Nice. Bye!_

 _Shadow_

 _(Yeah. that's what I'm doing from now on. It's a more realistic name...)_


	12. Waking Up

_Here's the next chapter! Foot HQ! Anyone else realize that two chapters back, when Leo was listing what the Foot were doing to him, he didn't mention nearly drowning? That was on purpose! Oops! I mean- Y'know what? Screw this! Let's just go! Enjoy! BTW, present-time Leo is Leonardo, and past Leo is Leo. Just to clear any issues up._

* * *

Leo woke up with a choke. He coughed a few times, spitting out water. He was back in the cell.

Had that really happened?

Why would Splinter try to drown him? He'd been a good student most of his life. Except when he'd gone failure-crazy. But he'd made it clear that Leonardo was forgiven many times, despite the leader's protests.

...Had he been lying to him?

No, Leo. Get those thoughts out of your head. They were playing with our mind.

Was that why he couldn't completely tell what reality was anymore? Cuz, it was starting to get ridiculous. He'd been so confused for...

He glanced at the calendar. He'd been in their capture for only a little more than 2 weeks! It felt like ages, even though he couldn't remember when he slept.

Which brought up another question. Why couldn't he remember what he dreamed? He knew the Foot had something to do with it, but what were they repressing from his memory?

He coughed again, more water spewing from his mouth, landing on the floor in front of him. He got on his hands and knees, spitting out the water. He gasped for breath.

This was what they wanted. Whoever had tried to drown him was watching him struggle to so much as breathe. They'd made him swallow all that water, and then revived him so they could watch and laugh at his struggles.

He wasn't about to let that happen. He stood up, leaning against the wall boredly. He tapped his finger on the scar on his plastron as he looked down at the cuts still littering his arms, hardly having scarred yet. If he strained them too much, they hurt. So, he dealt with the pain, didn't show his captors weakness.

It didn't help that he was nearly always tired, though.

He didn't know when it'd started, but unless he was in one of Karai's torture sessions, he was tired.

In those rare sessions, he was on adrenaline.

He was tired now. He had just woken up about 5 minutes ago. He didn't need sleep. Were they drugging him? No, that didn't seem right. He hadn't worn his chains since Karai had taken them off, and the food was still clean; no matter what, he always checked.

What was wrong with him, then? He was not being drugged. Maybe he was just exhausted from the few torture sessions he'd had. Another question.

Why wasn't she torturing him every minute she could?

He wasn't really complaining, don't get him wrong, but, if she wasn't going o torture any information out of him, what was she going to do?

As if Fate wanted to answer his question, the door opened. He glanced over at the Elites, glancing at the syringe in one's hand. "You're not gonna get me," he smirked bitterly, barking a harsh laugh as they approached. "You may have tried, but you haven't broken me yet."

The Elites glanced at each other confusedly. This turtle thought he'd hold out any longer? Poor, poor thing. They almost felt sorry for it. Leo raspberry-ed at them, causing the one with the syringe to growl and approach, not letting his comrade stop him. Leo's smirk grew as he dodged out of the way of the needle, and kicked the Elite in the stomach, into the other Elite. They both toppled on the ground, and Leo smiled devilishly as he ran out of the room, not feeling the small prick in his lag from the barely conscious Elite as he made his way down the hall, not finding any hindrance in his path.

He started to slow down.

What? Why wasn't his body obeying his commands?

Go faster!

His eyes started to droop, his body getting more tired by the second.

How had they drugged him?

His thoughts became a haze as he collapsed on the floor, not unconscious, but not completely aware, either.

The Elites who had come to get him stood over him with smirks under their masks. Leo glances up at them, then puts his head back down, too tired to keep it raised.

When he's aware again, he's in the same room he'd been in when his memory was altered. It had been the only one memory, but Leo knew the room well. Because they'd tried to trick them with a Mikey impostor.

They would not trick him with Mikey again.

Ever.

The Elite shoved another needle into his skin again while he was thinking, making Leo shake his head in an attempt to clear it. The Elite left and locked the door, leaving Leo leaning against the wall, trying to fight unconsciousness.

It didn't work.

* * *

 _Leonardo found his younger self on a cot, with Don preparing a needle._

 _This must've been his annual vaccines; living in the sewers, these were a big necessity._

 _Wait - he looked closer. He was strapped to a table. And he was in obvious pain. He had many bandages in his arms already_

 _"OK, this is an experimental drug that should give you tunnel vision. It's not permanent, I don't think, but, that's what experiments are for!" the young genius shrugged, injecting the serum into his brother carelessly._

 _Leo was already in pain from the injections that had taken his sense of smell, altered his hearing to pick up the smallest sounds, sounds even ninja training couldn't help him pick up, and something that had paralyzed his vocal cords._

 _Leonardo's mind immediately gave him a memory of having tunnel vision, and combined it with a memory of the lab ceiling, something he'd seen many times, having been knocked out countless times in battle._

 _"When did Don turn into this?" he muttered as the memory faded._

* * *

Leo awoke in his cell. He rubbed his aching head. "Must've fallen asleep. Again."

He had no memory of this trip to the room.

Karai smiled from the control room. She wouldn't have the drug that altered important memories put into Leonardo when he knew he was in the room; all the merrier for her to see him break, piece by piece, until he _wanted_ to tell where he freak brothers were.

Until then, she'd just enjoy the show.

* * *

 _Took too long! I accidentally deleted part of it, so I had to type it again, and I really didn't want to because I hate myself right now and... yeah. Anyway, who likes? I'm gonna have a One-Shot up soon, so keep an eye out for that! :)_ _Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	13. Rehab? No way

_Here's the next chapter! Back at ze Lair! How's Leo dealing right now? O.o Read to find out! Enjoy!_

* * *

Leo avoided everyone for the next few days. Except Mikey, who followed him around and comforted him. Splinter tried to stay out of the eldest turtle's sight, but at times even a ninja master can fail.

Like now, for example.

Leo buried his face in a pillow on the couch, a daily routine for him now, when Splinter had walked through from the stairs to the kitchen. In his haste and mission to be quiet, he'd somehow managed to trip over his cane and fall over with an 'oof!'

Leo's ninja-trained ears picked it up and his hands clenched around the pillow, recognizing the voice.

 _He is right there! You can kill him now!_

Yeah, this wasn't helping either. Since Leo's little episode a few days ago, the voice had been pestering him to no end, as it'd promised. And the episode itself had made it as if the voice could actually control him, and that scared Leo. A lot.

But it couldn't be, right?

Leo had more willpower than that...

Right?

He decided not to think about it as he covered his ears with the pillow, tears staining it as Splinter left hastily, mumbling about stealth or something.

Mikey approached his eldest brother, a soda can in hand. "Hey, bro."

Leo let out a throaty sound through his nose and looked at Mike with a tired expression. His expression asked 'what?'

"I know that your taste is kinda restricted, but, ya want some soda?" Mike asked.

Leo sighed and sat up, automatically going into a lotus position as he took the offered drink gratefully. He gave Mikey a small, semi-genuine smile and took a sip of the grape-flavored drink.

Raph walked out of the dojo, gulping when he saw Leo and Mikey on the couch. Mike spotted him and glanced at Leo, who was facing away from the red-clad turtle, and then smiled, beckoning Raph over.

The hothead shook his head. _"Hell no,"_ he mouthed.

Leo glanced back, and Raph immediately took off.

 _Ha! He's scared of you!_

 _'How is that a good thing?!'_

 _He won't do anything to you if he's scared!_

 _'...Uh.'_

 _Exactly. Your brother's talking to you._

Leo snapped back to attention, looking at Mikey with completely aware eyes.

Mikey repeated himself. "Are you feeling alright, bro? You've been spacing out a lot more since-"

Leo covered his ears, not wanting to hear it.

 _Admit that you attacked Donatello!_

 _'I didn't mean to, though!'_

Mikey's eye-ridge raised as Leo suddenly scowled/snarled. "Uh, bro?"

Leo gave him a small smile, snapping out of it again.

"You been feeling alright?"

Leo nodded, his smile fading a bit.

"Ya sure?"

Leo frowned at him. He nodded more forcefully.

* * *

Raph ran into Don's lab. "Awright, ya got anyt'in'? I can't take dis fer much longa!"

Don turned in his chair to face him. "I told you, I can't get any solid results until I get a blood sample! And since it's obvious hat he's scared to death of needles, especially in _my hands,_ that's not happening any time soon. What I can gather, though, is that they kind of replicated a drug from _The Hunger Games._ You read that, right?"

Raph nodded, searching his brain. "Oh, yeah. Wit' da chick wit' da bow'n arrow?"

 ** _(SHUSH, RAPHIE! YOU'LL SPOIL OT FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T READ IT! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY SPOILERS FOR THE HUNGER GAMES, PM ME OR PUT IT IN THE REVIEW BOX AND I'LL EXPLAIN IT WITHOUT SPOILERS! JUST LOOK FOR THE NEXT THING WITH ITALICS AND BOLD AND YOU CAN BEGIN READING AGAIN!)_**

"Y'know in the third book where Peeta was captured by the Capitol, and then they 'hijacked' him and he wanted to kill Katniss because hey told him that she was a Mutt and she was basically the cause of all the evil that was going on?"

 ** _(NVM, IT'S EXPLAINED RIGHT... DOWN... THERE!_** ** _)_**

Raph nodded again.

"They kind of replicated that. They altered Leo's memories and programmed him to want to kill us. At certain times. I think. I need a blood sample to see, though."

Raph cracked his knuckles. "I'll get ya some blood," he said, leaving.

"Raph don't you even-!" Don tried, but Raph didn't listen.

Leo was walking towards his room when Raph suddenly came into his path, new information giving him a reason to approach his brother. "Hey bro," Raph started as Leo backed up a little, intimidated. He crossed his arms in a questioning way.

 _Get him the hell out of your way!_

 _'Let's hear him out.'_

"Don said 'e needed a blood sample, right?" Raph asked, making Leo gulp, something that was a bit hard after getting his tongue cut out. He shook his head.

Raph chuckled darkly. "Sure. An' I'm da Easta Bunny," he taunted, causing Leo to snarl and a throaty noise to come from him.

Mikey gulped from the couch, ready to make his way over, when...

"Get ta Don's lab so he can find out wha's wrong. Now," Raph ordered in his most authoritative tone.

Leo's snarl deepened, reminding Raph of himself times ten. He shoved Raph out of the way and continued on his way, his lips moving, something Mike noticed from where he was.

Raph growled and grabbed Leo's wrist. The elder turtle snapped his head around, and Raph gasped as he was suddenly on the floor, pinned, with his own sai at his neck. Leo stared at him with unseeing, unfocused, and insane eyes a the sai moved closer to his jugular...

* * *

 _I apologize for it being so short! :( But, the contest is over, and I got a new DA account! tmntlovingleo. deviantart. com! Make sure to take out the spaces when you put the link in! I'll be trying to re-upload my things and watching all the same people! It'll probably take a while. But who cares? I have my first swim meet on Monday and I will fail so fucking miserably it's not even funny! I can't DO anything! I can hardly swim a 50 because I'm fucking slow and fat and everyone's always passing me! Anyways, review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	14. Tongue

_Here's the next chapter! Back at ze HQ! Forgot where we left off... *checks* Ah, yes! 'Tis been a while! Enjoy!_

 ** _WARNING: THERE IS A BIT OF GORE IN THIS CHAPTER AND IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU._**

* * *

Leo fiddled with his thumbs in his cell, having slept again after going to the room (not that he knew that) and waking up again a few minutes ago.. "Y'know, if you want to fail at getting information," he yelled at the camera, "you might as well get it over with and then kill me!"

"You are not doing yourself any good by talking, mutant!" Karai exclaimed as she walked in, giving Leo his food.

Leo glared at it. "I'm not hungry."

"I do not care. You agreed that if you are free to roam your cell, you shall eat."

"Still don't get why you care," Leo deadpanned, nibbling on the piece of bread.

"I do not."

"Said you did."

Karai growled at him. "Shut your mouth, mutant. The only reason you can still talk is because I know you will tell me where you live eventually."

"Yeah right."

"Would you _like_ me to cut out your tongue?"

"Try me. I'd still be able to talk."

In reality, Leo was scared to death of this punishment. The memory of having his vocal cords paralyzed by his brother's hand was fresh in his mind. He hadn't been able to speak or even turn his head without feeling pain in his throat for days.

"Elite Guards! Get him strapped to a table and get me a scalpel!"

Leo inwardly screamed in terror.

* * *

Leo growled and strained against the straps that kept him against the table. "Y'know, if I ever were to tell you where my family is, which I won't-" _'No matter how abusive they were,'_ "-I sure as hell won't be able to now!"

"Exactly. You wouldn't have. My previous plan has obviously so I am going to my second plan: put you in as much pain as possible. Which is why you will not have anesthesia during this operation. Now, open wide!" Karai singsonged as she took out a scalpel.

Leo clamped his mouth shut. "Yeah, right," he muttered through his nose, mostly. He alone had been taught to do that in case they were ever captured and gagged.

Karai sighed exasperatedly and took out a needle, quickly putting into Leo's bloodstream. "Then I shall make sure you cannot move your jaw."

Leo's mouth slowly hung slackly open. "Ya 'us' sai 'ere no ane'taga."

"Oh, there isn't. You can still feel the pain."

Leo groaned, rolling his head to the side. Karai grabbed it and steadied it. She then grabbed Leo's tongue, drawing it completely outwards to the point where Leo was already in pain and put the scalpel to it. She drew back with a smirk. "There is still a chance to tell me where your family resides..."

Leo mumbled something incoherent. All Karai heard was 'o!'

"Very well."

With that, she plunged the scalpel into Leo's tongue.

* * *

Leo had never been in so much pain in his life. He did everything he could not to scream.

Don't scream.

Don't cry out.

Don't fucking WHIMPER.

Karai was nearly done, with about half a centimeter left, but then she smirked. She ripped off the rest of Leo's tongue.

"AAAAHHH!"

Leo woke up again on that table. "Ooooww," he moaned.

"Ah, I guess you were right. You can still talk," Karai's smooth voice hummed from the corner of the room, where she sat and read a book.

"Bit! (Bitch!)" Leo yelled back at her, despite the pain it took to so much as talk. His tongue was no longer bleeding at the stub, which was kind of a good sign to him.

"I shall take out your vocal cords," Karai shrugged as if it were nothing.

"Wha?!"

Karai grabbed another clean scalpel and held it to Leo's throat. Leo struggled to swallow, the lack of tongue making it hard.

"You can still tell me," Karai singsonged again.

"No!"

"Very well."

Leo grit his teeth as his throat was cut open, but almost no blood flowed out. His eyes narrowed at Karai, who smiled 'sweetly' back. "What? You do not think I don't know how to slit one's throat only for pain?"

Leo grimaced, the knife making an opening to the inside od fhis throat. "Y'r w'rd."

"Arigato."

Leo scoffed. He'd have loved to use the healing hands, but he couldn't really talk.

So instead, he focused on thoughts of his family.

His loving brothers. His father-

That line of thought immediately took a wrong turn.

Splinter had tried to drown him! He had abused him in training!

Raph had beaten him up countless times for the smallest reasons!

Don had experimented on him and caused him so much pain!

Mikey...

Mikey was the kindest and most fun-loving being anyone could imagine...

He inwardly sighed. At the very least, he wanted to see Mikey again.

He gasped in pain as his insides were cut into pieces.

He choked, but didn't move for fear of more pain.

Karai finally finished and sewed his throat back together. Leo coughed. He tried to send a biting remark at her, but his voice wasn't working.

 _'She... She actually...'_

"I see you are not able to talk, my friend," Karai smirked. Leo grit his teeth and let out as close to a growl as he could.

Karai smirked again. "Take him to his cell!" she then commanded to a few Elite who Leo hadn't noticed were there.

The Elites bowed and unstrapped Leo, who didn't have the willpower to fight anymore. He hung limply in their arms as he was dragged back to his cell.

* * *

Leo put his head in his hand as he sobbed, choked sounds with only remorse in them.

He couldn't talk anymore.

He couldn't fight.

He was done.

He was _done._

He couldn't do it anymore.

He couldn't fight anymore.

He let out another choked sob, shell scraping against the wall as he sat down, tears still streaming down his face.

* * *

 _Well? I told you. Maybe there should be a rating change? What do you think? I'm pretty sure this is as bad as it'll get, but I just want to be sure. Please tell me in the review box down there!_ _Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	15. Aftermath kinda

_Here's the next chapter! Back at ze Lair! I left y'all with a cliffhanger, right? Heh. Enjoy!_

* * *

"Leo! Leo, it's me!" Raph tried desperately as the sai came closer to his throat. "Your brother!"

 _'My brother!? My brother who's beat me and hurt me and cut me down even lower than I should be?!'_

 _KILL HIM!_

Leo's hand started to shake as it got closer to Raph's throat. Mikey's cries were breaking through his consciousness, making him hesitate.

"Leo! Leo, don't!" the youngest ordered as he approached carefully. He'd noticed that Leo only seemed to be comfortable around him, and he'd been informed that Leo's memories had been tainted, and all evidence he'd seen so far showed that Raph's rambling wasn't helping at all.

Leo snapped his head over to Mikey, and his insane eyes immediately softened. Raph took the chance to kick his brother off of him, sending him into the wall. Leo let out a throaty noise as he rubbed his head.

Mikey growled at his brother and signaled for him to leave. Raph shook his head, then yelped as Leo lunged at him again. Mikey got in Leo's path, making the lost turtle snarl at him. "Leo. Calm down."

 _'Oops!'_

 _"Never tell someone having a panic attack to calm down,"_ the article had said. Leo wasn't necessarily having a panic attack, but he was sure it wouldn't do good to make him do something he obviously couldn't do at the moment.

Leo let out a kind-of-growl, but stayed still. Raph froze. Maybe if he didn't move, Le would forget he was there-

He had to sneeze.

NOW.

He slowly went to put his hand on his nose, but Leo saw it. Mikey was in front of the blue-clad turtle before he could lunge, though. Raph took the opportunity to sneeze as Mike started talking. "Leo. You do not want to do this. How would April and Casey react? You surely don't want that on your conscience!"

Leo's insane eyes were trained on his youngest brother in interest as his breaths came out in uneven gasps.

"I don't know what you think he did, but he didn't. He never did _anything_ to you. And he won't. No one is going to hurt you. He won't. I won't. Nobody will. Do you understand?"

Leo's uneven breaths didn't even out, but he nodded.

"Breathe with me, Leo. In," Mikey inhaled, "and out."

Leo's breaths started to even out, and his snarl started to die down the smallest bit.

"Now, when I name something in here, the hallway, you point to it. OK?"

Leo nodded again.

"There's your bedroom."

Leo pointed at the oak wood door with big blue letters on it spelling his name.

"My room."

Leo pointed.

"The dojo."

Leo's head snapped to the room, where he'd felt so much pain...

He needed to get out of here. He needed to get out of this hellhole. He was trapped. He needed to-

"Leo?"

Leo took off towards the Lair door.

* * *

Don jumped out from behind the lab door when he heard the Lair door open. There were running footsteps, and shouts, and then the door closed. He opened his door and saw his brothers opening the door, and Mikey sprinting out, not waiting for his brother. Don glared at his hotheaded brother, who smiled sheepishly. As they ran after their faster brothers through the tunnels, Raph sighed. "Don, I'm sorry. I was just worried about him-"

"Save it for Mikey and Leo, Raphael," Don snapped.

Raph ground his teeth, but held his tongue as Don took out his Shell Cell to track Mikey's cell. "Leo must've left his phone at the Lair. Lucky Mikey had his on him; otherwise, we'd never find them."

* * *

Leo finally couldn't run anymore and collapsed on his hands and knees, eyes tearing up as he breathed heavily. He hear footsteps and got on his knees, shielding his face.

"Leo? Leo, there you are!" Mikey's relieved voice rang out. He jogged over to his brother, panting. Leo looked more like a confused, wounded animal than anything right now.

Leo glanced up at his brother with sad, glazed over eyes, revealing that he still wasn't completely aware.

"Leo, I need you to come back to me. I need my brother back. You can't keep reverting to this... drugged state when you're mad," Mikey explained gently as he sat next to his brother.

Leo buried his head in his hands.

 _No! Don't do it!_

 _'Just because you want me to hurt my brothers doesn't mean I want to!'_ Leo's rational side of mind, hidden deep within himself at the moment, retorted.

"Lemme help you. Take a deep breath in, just like I said earlier."

Leo did so.

"Out."

Out.

"In."

In.

"Out."

Out.

Leo's eyes cleared slowly. He was in a sewer junction?

He gasped as the memory returned to him. Mikey's soothing hand did little to calm him as he saw what he'd done.

"Raph," he gasped during an inhale.

"He's fine, Leo."

Leo shook his head. No, he wasn't. He'd put a sai at his throat... Even if he wan't physically hurt...

His ears picked up two pairs of footsteps, and he scrunched his eyes shut to keep his emotions at bay.

Mikey shook his head at his brothers, who got the message and, as quietly as possible, left.

"Hey, Leo," Mikey cooed to his brother, who looked up at him with teary eyes. "Let's go back to the Lair, yeah? Help you calm down, maybe get you a drink."

Leo swallowed. He _was_ thirsty after all that running.

Eventually, he nodded and let Mikey help him up. The trip to the Lair was silent.

* * *

Leo immediately went to his room after he'd gotten a drink. He locked the door, then sat on his bed with his knees drawn up to his chest and a pillow being squeezed in his hands.

 _You're a coward, you know._

 _'I know.'_

Leo sat there for hours, into the night and not even sleeping. When he saw that his clock said it was 8 in the morning, he finally moved, stretching his sore muscles.

And then his door opened, and the first thing he saw was a needle.

* * *

 _Well, a cliffhanger for Leo, at the very least. *shrugs* Who cares? Y'all probably know. I hope, anyway. Also, no, Leo can't talk still. He didn't technically need his voice when he said Raph's name because he kind of said it while he was inhaling. Just... it totally never happened! *squints and teleports away*_ _Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	16. More Memories

_Here's the next chapter! Back at ze HQ! Trying to think of something to now that Leo's broken! P: OH! Read and find out! Enjoy it, as well!_

* * *

2 weeks later, Leo leaned against the wall, trying not to move anything above his shoulders; it all still _hurt_.

He wanted it to end. Who would miss him if he never came back?

Raph hated him.

Don only saw him as a guinea pig.

Splinter just didn't like him. Wouldn't care if he left.

Mikey...

He held onto that thread.

He needed to stay.

For Mikey.

For April and Casey.

To kill Karai.

 _Oh, she's not so bad._

Leo rubbed his head. He didn't know when he'd started hearing this voice exactly, but it had been around 4 to 6 days ago.

 _'She very much is.'_

He'd kind of just accepted it. He was insane. Nothing he could do about it.

 _Well, she lets you walk around freely. And she feeds you._

 _'She also cut my arms up, tried to trick me with a Mikey impostor, and took out my freaking tongue and vocal cords!'_

 _...But she hadn't done any more than that. It was the rat that tried to drown you, and almost all of your scars are from your family._

Leo sighed. That much was true. _'Whatever. I don't feel like any company right now. Can you leave?'_

 _No, not really._

 _'Then please just shut up!'_

It did so.

Until Karai came in with food.

 _Here she is!_

 _'Shut up!'_

"Ah, Leonardo. How are we doing today?" Karai asked. When Leo just looked away, she smirked. "Cat got your tongue?"

 _That's still funny, you have to admit._

 _'No, it's morbid!'_

Leo officially decided he didn't like this voice.

He wanted to stick his tongue out at Karai but... WAIT! HE CAN'T!

Karai placed his food in front of him. "It seems you are broken already."

Leo looked away again. That obviously wouldn't help, but he didn't care anymore.

Only thing he cared about was keeping strong for Mikey.

Only reason he hadn't killed himself yet was for Mikey.

Stay strong for Mikey.

 _Stay strong your ass! You're broken!_

Leo's eyes widened and he shook his head.

Karai's smirk grew. _'Good. He is hearing the voice, as well.'_

"See you tomorrow, Leonardo. Eat like a good mutant turtle," she cooed as she left.

Leo ground his teeth, looking at the meal. A tuna sandwich and orange juice.

At least there was a little variety in his food.

He ate the small meal and then leaned against the wall again.

He was tired...

* * *

 _Leonardo found himself in the dojo, in a defensive position against Splinter, katanas out against his father's cane. His older self rolled his eyes in disgust. Why had he ever bothered? He knew he'd get hurt._

 _Raph called the fight._

 _Splinter lunged at Leo, cane ready to strike. Leo blocked it with his katanas. He kicked the old rat in the stomach, sending him backwards. He charged at Leo again, swinging his cane at Leo's face. The young turtle cried out as it cut his face. Splinter kicked him in the stomach forcefully, sending Leo backwards. Leo ground his teeth as his feet screeched against the dojo rugs, then he felt the sharp end of Splinter's cane knock him in the plastron, nearly drawing blood._

 _Leo cried out as Leonardo cringed._

 _Leo took the cane out of his plastron and got a punch to the face. He grabbed his already bleeding nose, and was knocked down, Splinter standing on top of him._

 _"Horrible."_

 _Leo bowed his head in shame._

 _Leonardo scoffed from the sidelines as he faded._

* * *

 _Leonardo then found himself on a rooftop with Raphael, weapons out. His mind supplied him with a memory of finding the Nightwatcher._ _Raph charged at him, sais out, and Leo charged back. Their weapons clashed loudly as they used ninja training to not slip on the wet rooftop as rain poured down on them. (BTW, I'M TOO LAZY TO DESCRIBE THE FIGHT MOVE-BY-MOVE, SO... DEAL WITH IT!) Leo kicked his brother, but Raph hardly seemed fazed. He stabbed at his brother with his sai, but Leo ducked out of the way._

 _Raphael thrust both of his sais at Leo from above, but the blue-clad turtle blocked the attack with his katanas forming an X. He pushed Raphael a few feet away. Raph growled and charged. Leo's grip on his katanas tightened. He used one of them to block Raphael's sais, pushing him backwards again._

 _This time Leo charged, swinging at Raph with all his might. He made more slashes, driving Raph towards the edge of the building. Raph hit the short wall, but kept his balance. Leo stabbed at his throat, but Raph slid out of the way just in time. A few seconds later, Leo's katanas were caught in between the prongs in Raph's sais. Raph ground his teeth, fire and hatred in his eyes as he pushed harder._

 _Leo's swords snapped._

 _The young terrapin's eyes widened as he stared at them in disbelief. This gave Raphael an opportunity to pin him down._

 _Leo gasped as a sai came within less than a centimeter from his eye. He looked up at his brother, silently daring him._

 _Raph scoffed, getting off of him and walking away. Right before he left, he called, "You're not worth my time."_

 _And then, he hopped to another rooftop._

 _Leonardo bit his lip as he faded into darkness._

* * *

Leo woke up and rubbed his head, glancing where his tray had been. He growled as he punched the wall.

That bastard!

Trying to stab his eye out?!

He blinked.

What had brought that thought up?

* * *

 _Alright, a little short. There are still unanswered questions. I know. Just wait! :) Please review, also; I don't get a lot of reviews on my stories for some reason. I don't mean to sound pushy, but... please?_

 _Shadow_


	17. Condition

_Here's next chappie! At hoooooommme! Hope you like and enjoy!_

* * *

Leo put his hands in front of his face defensively as his brother walked in, needle in hand.

"Hey! Whoa! Calm down! Don't lose it on me again!" Don's familiar gentle voice cooed, but Leo hid deeper within himself.

 _'Just go away just go away just-'_

"Leo, I promise that I'm not going to hurt you. Look. There's nothing in the syringe," Don tried again, turning on Leo's lamp and showing his brother the needle.

That didn't really soothe his brother any.

Leo was afraid of needles.

Karai's needles looked empty.

They were filled with drugs.

He put his hand out, wanting to test it to make completely sure.

Don gave it to him without hesitation. He needed this blood sample, if he wanted to see if and how he could help Leo.

Leo inspected the needle in the light. He shook it. He even pushed the button a few times. He gave a small smile.

But he still didn't trust Don.

He plunged the needle into a vein by himself, then gave the full syringe back to Don, whose eyes were wide. But, he shrugged and took the offered syringe. "Thanks, Leo. Really," he thanked on his way out.

As Leo put his finger on the needle hole to stem the bleeding, he realized how hungry he was.

His stomach growled, as if to prove his point.

He let out a sort-of groan and got up, doing another few stretches in his legs make them not numb anymore. He set out of his room, hellbent on just going to the kitchen and getting a snack.

Luckily, no one was in there.

He made himself a quick bologna and cheese sandwich and sat at the table, taking out his new Shell Cell and looking at it. He frowned.

No matter how much pain Don had caused him, he still felt bad about breaking his old cell. Don provided them with all of their tech. He always had a plan when Leo didn't. He was smart.

And Leo, no matter how Don used it, was proud of that.

He started as he heard quiet footsteps in the doorway.

That wasn't his brothers...

He glanced back, but saw no one. He looked down, and smiled warmly.

Klunk dashed up to him, jumping in his lap and rubbing her head on his stomach, which was as far as she could reach at the moment. Leo picked her up and rubbed her head with his thumb, making her purr.

"Mew?" she asked, cocking her head. Leo let out a silent chuckle. For a cat, this being was very observant.

 _'Too bad she can't hear me,'_ he then thought sadly. so, he continued to pet her. He had no idea how he hadn't seen her at all since he'd gotten home.

Klunk snuggled deeper into his chest, melting into his touch, and Leo's smile widened a bit.

And then he sneezed.

He recovered himself. He occasionally sneezed while around the cat, as he was a bit allergic. Klunk hadn't minded after a few weeks, though.

Klunk, in response to his sneeze, nuzzled deeper into his chest.

* * *

Mikey woke up and the first thing he realized he realized was that Klunk was no longer with him. He heard a sneeze from the kitchen, though, and immediately understood.

"Mikey! Raph! Get in here!" Don whisper-shouted at him and his brother. Leo either ignored him or didn't hear.

Don ushered his two mentally-healthy brothers into his lab and sat down in his chair. "This is what I have on Leo," he started after closing the door quietly. "The drug in his system is doing just like I said: It altered his memories and he's having major reactions to side effects, such as violent attacks and flashbacks; I think they're flashbacks when he pauses and looks lost in thought. He also has major PTSD, and it's really easy to to trigger it and the attacks associated with it. He also has bipolar disorder, which is what I'm pretty sure is the reason that he's been really depressed; he's having a depressive phase that could last weeks or even months!"

"I'm confused," Mikey cut in.

"Think it over again. Me, Raph and Splinter all need to earn Leo's trust back. I'd love to give Leo some therapy and possibly even get the drug out of his system; that in itself would probably help him trust us more, and very likely get rid of his violent episodes. I'm not sure if there's a way to change his memories back, though; we'll have to give him a lot of convincing."

Mikey glanced at Raph, who shrugged. "Alright, Don. You do your thing," the younger finally said.

"Wait, wait, wait, there, Mikey. I need you to stay with Leo to watch that he doesn't try anything. Who knows what he'd do in his depressed state?"

"So, Leo's got depression too? Nice," Raph muttered sarcastically.

"It's not full depression, per se. I don't know what's going on in his head. I think he's just really sad," Don reassured.

"That's any better," Raph groaned as he left, staying out of Leo's field of view.

Mikey looked at Don. "So, I just need to do what I've been doing," he clarified.

"Yep."

"...OK."

Mikey walked out, going into the kitchen, where Leo seemed to be lost in thought and unconsciously rubbing Klunk's head. The cat didn't mind; she liked that she was finally getting some attention from her favorite uncle. Mikey sat next to his brother, waiting for him to come out of his flashback.

Little did he know, though, that Leo wasn't having a flashback.

 _They're talking about you._

 _'They were? I had no idea.'_

 _Haha funny._

 _'Besides, it's to be expected. They're obviously trying to make me feel safe around them so they can start abusing me again.'_

 _Exactly. So, just ignore them._

 _'What about Mikey?'_

 _He wouldn't agree to anything they say. They may not be as bad to him, but he's still not their biggest fan, really._

 _'...OK. I was staying away from them, anyway.'_

"Leo?"

Leo snapped out of his thoughts and looked at his brother. He gave a smile, then looked down at the now-sleeping kitten in his hands, as if having forgotten her. He handed her to Mikey, who took her gently.

"So, Leo, I was wondering," Mikey started as Leo finished the last bite of his sandwich and used a napkin to get the mayo he'd put on it off his fingers, "if you'd want to get the drugs Karai put in you out of your blood?"

Leo froze.

 _What would be the point of that?_

 _'Uh, I dunno.'_

Leo shrugged.

Mikey wasn't expecting that. "Leo, it, uh,could get rid of your attacks!"

 _'That sounds kind of good...'_

 _Don't think like that! No it doesn't!_

 _'But...'_

Leo felt a sudden pain in his head, but didn't show any outward response except for a finger twitch hat Mikey didn't even notice.

The blue-clad turtle then shook his head. Mikey groaned. "Leo! Listen to yourself - oops!"

Leo ground his teeth. _'That little-'_ he thought. He gave Mikey a fake, toothy, scary smile, then left, scowling.

Klunk yowled and hid under the table as the sound of a door slamming nearly broke the sound barrier in the Lair waking her.

* * *

 _There! Done! I have a new poll on my profile! Please go check it out! Please? :) Hope you all liked the chapter! It probably would've been up yesterday, but my mom was mad at me and wouldn't let me on the computer until really late. Anyways, r_ _eview, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	18. First Episode

_Here's next chappie! At Foot HQ once more! Dammit! I had something planned for this and now I forgot! :( Maybe it'll come back to me? Uh... Enjoy!_

* * *

Leo lay face-down in his cell.

He was tired.

He was bored.

He didn't want to eat.

The voice wouldn't stop pestering him.

He was really very much willing to give up at this moment.

He heard the cell door open, but he didn't acknowledge the two Elites that came in.

He hardly stirred when a boot his arm. "Is the kame dead?" one Elite asked.

He could practically hear the other one shrug.

"Are you dead, kame?"

Leo rolled his eyes. He has about 16 biting comebacks he'd have loved to shoot at them.

Of course, he couldn't voice them.

"Maybe if we are to kick him harder?"

"Works for me."

He felt two simultaneous kicks to both of his arms and cringed.

"He is alive."

Leo rolled himself over and looked up at them, unimpressed.

"Get up, kame. Karai wishes to see you."

Leo didn't move.

"Do you want to be tased, kame?"

Leo sighed and stood up. He crossed his arms expectantly.

The Elites grabbed him by the arms and pulled him out of the cell. Leo didn't struggle.

The green teen was sat on a table, unrestrained, and then the Elites left. Leo just put his head in his hands and waited.

Karai came in a few minutes later, something behind her back that Leo didn't register. "Hello, Leonardo."

He looked away from her.

"Oh, Leonardo. Do not be sad. It is not so bad here. We feed you."

 _'I'm forced to eat.'_

"We gave you a bath one time."

 _'You tried to drown me.'_

"Oh, never mind! What I am saying is, I am more than happy to have gotten rid of that annoying voice of yours!"

Leo's eyes widened. Something snapped within him. His eyes turned glazed and unfocused and he snarled.

He lunged at Karai.

The woman smirked in triumph and dodged out of the way of the attack. She ignored the questions from the Elites on her watch, instead turning it off.

Leo lunged at her repeatedly, his scowl growing with every try.

"What is wrong, Leonardo? Did I hit a nerve?"

Leo let out a throaty growl and lunged at her once finally succeeded.

Karai smirked up at her prisoner. "Stand down, Leonardo. I am not the one who caused you pain as your family did."

Leo's unfocused eyes widened, and he pushed down on her chest.

Karai's smirk hardly faltered. "Leonardo, get off of me. Unless you wish to be drugged once more."

Leo still glared, but did so. His breathing was labored. Uneven.

Karai crossed her arms. "Get back on the table."

Leo scowled at her still, but did so.

Karai smiled triumphantly once more. These episodes of Leonardo's were sure to prove useful to her at some point.

But not yet.

She couldn't risk him suspecting anything yet.

"I will give you time to calm down. Goodbye, Leonardo."

She left.

Leonardo was alone.

Leo ground his teeth and clenched his fist on the table, punching it hard. He did it again. Again. Again. Unsatisfied. He growled again and hit his head on it.

That somehow cleared it a little bit.

He put his head in his hands as he evened out his breaths.

 _'Breathe. In. Out,'_ he repeated to himself multiple times.

His eyes cleared all the way.

He looked around. _'Um?"_

The Elites came back in and dragged him to his cell.

* * *

Leo was confused. Nothing had happened in that room. Why had they taken him back out? Had he fallen asleep again? Probably. He seemed to be doing that a lot in the month and a half since he'd gotten his tongue removed, especially. He would've hummed, could he.

He put a hand on his chin in thought.

 _It's fine! Get over it!_

Leo rolled his eyes. He hated this voice more and more each day.

 _'Whatever.'_

He was beginning to feel a bit more...submissive, as well. Was that just because he was breaking under Karai's torture? Or was he just realizing more and more how bad his family was with every passing day?

Huh.

He shrugged, eating the meal on the tray that had been there when he got back to the cell.

Sleepy...

* * *

 _Leonardo found himself at April's apartment, getting a wound treated. Donatello and Raphael were there with him, scowls on their faces._

 _As soon as April was out of the room to get her supplies, the two turtles exploded on him. "What da hell was dat, bro?! Ya jus' let 'em get away!"_

 _Leo looked away. "I'm sorry! It was that or let that lady get killed! The reason we go out on these patrols is so that we can protect innocents! a few Purple Dragons doesn't matter, anyway! They were scared out of their pants as it was! They're not gonna try anything for the night, at least!"_

 _Don snarled at him. "That woman was already half dead as it was! You're lucky we agreed to get her to a hospital at the rate she was losing life!"_

 _Leo's eyes widened. "Don! She was still alive! We have all been raised to appreciate life, and protect it! I'm sure in the morning we'll see on the news that she is completely fine and that there was almost a gang rape that took place that mysterious vigilantes stopped!"_

 _Raph growled at his elder brother. He drove a fist straight into his stomach, which was already bruised. Leo cried out, holding the wound, but didn't fight it. Don't hurt your brothers, don't hurt them..._

 _"What are you guys doing?!" a feminine voice demanded._

 _Raph and Don were back in their chairs in an instant. "Nothin', Ape. Jus' askin' Leo somethin'," Raph answered passively._

 _April cast a questioning look at Leo, who subtly shook his head. His brothers didn't notice it. April gave a big, fake smile and took out her medical supplies. "Leo, I'll get you done first. You look worse than the guys. Then maybe you can go home to Mikey," she suggested casually._

 _Leo nodded. "Thanks, April."_

* * *

Leo rubbed his head as he woke up. He immediately registered that he'd fallen asleep and sighed. He was getting tired of sleeping this much.

He smiled at his joke.

* * *

 _Done! Didn't take very long, for once! :) That's a pretty nice first! So, who liked?_ _Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	19. Catatonia

_Hope you like! Back at the Lair! Remember what Mikey accidentally did? Gulp. O_o Leo may trust him more than the others, but that doesn't mean that Mikey has rights to do WHATEVER he wants... ENJOY!_

* * *

Leo sat in his bed once again, sketchbook in hand. He tapped his pencil on the blank page. thinking. He needed to calm himself down...

 _What? It's almost the same joke Karai used to make!_

Leo's eyes shone with insanity for a split second, but he quickly got it under control and growled at himself.

 _'Stop reminding me.'_

The voice shut up for a second. Leo smiled.

 _'I know what I'll draw!'_

 _Don't even think about it-!_

 _'Too late.'_

Leo's pencil started to scratch the paper lightly, sketching the outline of what he imagined the voice looked like.

 _I swear if you draw the devil or something..._

 _'Nah. You're some kind of figment of my imagination, so you can't be the devil. You do sound kind of familiar, like someone I haven't heard for a few months but heard a lot before that. Can't put my finger on it...'_

 _Well... Deal with it._

 _'OK.'_

Leo's pencil scribbled across the paper, lips pursed in concentration. He didn't notice when someone came in and told him it was dinner time, didn't even know who it was. Didn't hear the sigh when they left.

A few hours after he'd started (and like 20 minutes after someone had tried to get him), he smiled at the finished (unless coloring counted, but he wasn't going to color it) work.

 _Are you serious?_

 _'Yep.'_

It was a picture of the Shredder.

 _I don't sound like him!_

 _'Well, I don't really remember what he sounded like!'_

 _...We both know that's not true._

 _'Yeah. Don't have any other idea, though.'_

"LEO! COME TO DINNER OR I'M DRAGGIN' YOU DOWN!" Raph's voice screamed from downstairs. Leo silently winced, putting his sketchbook away. He opened his door and went down he stairs silently, sitting at the table. There was a cold plate of mashed potatoes and corn in front of him, and Raph and Splinter were picking at their food. Mikey was doing the dishes and Don was leaving towards his lab.

"Hey, bro," Mikey greeted. "You're little late."

Leo looked at him, then ate some of his cold potatoes. He could hardly taste anything anymore. It sucked. Mikey made the best mashed potatoes!

"So... Leo..." Raph started, obviously wanting to leave.

Leo glanced deftly up at him, then pretended he wasn't there.

 _'Please, whatever you do to me, don't make me attack them. Please,'_ Leo begged internally. _'What if I don't get angry. Then you can't do anything to me, right?'_

"Uh, how's it goin'...?" Raph finally asked. Leo could hear Mikey face-palm from where he was.

Leo rolled his eyes and went back to eating.

Raph looked at Mikey with a 'what-did-I-do-wrong?' look. Michelangelo looked at him flatly as he finished loading the washer and turned it on.

The orange-clad turtle then felt something hit his head. He instinctively caught it and looked.

'u forgot detergent'

Mikey slapped his head again as he opened the washer. Leo snickered as he took his notepad back and tucked it into his belt, finishing off his dinner. He stopped Mikey from closing the dishwasher again, this time with detergent in it, washed off his plate a little, and then set it in, closing it right after.

Mikey shrugged and followed his brother out. Leo went to the couch and Mikey gave him the remote, but Leo gave it back. He just hoped Mikey didn't put on another movie with torture in it like the other day.

 _Y'know, you could choose something if you wanted._

 _'Yeah, but I've never really liked TV.'_

Leo glanced at _Tom and Jerry Tales_. _'I wish they'd air the original ones more often,'_ he sighed internally.

 _Fine. I'll give you something else to torture you, instead._

 _'Wait, wha-?'_

The world around Leo darkened, making him gasp as he found himself...

Back in his cell.

In Foot HQ.

His eyes widened as he looked around. It was a perfect image...

"What on-?!" he demanded, hardly noticing that he could talk. When he did, after a minute when nothing happened, he realized this was some kind of trick of his mind.

Something appeared from the corner of his vision.

He whirled around.

And took a step back.

He was standing face-to-face with a mirror image, smirking version...

Of _himself_.

" _Well, you wanted to know what I looked like,_ " the voice said from his mirror image.

* * *

Mikey glanced at his brother. "You like this show, right, Leo? I know you like the originals better, but those won't be on for a few hours."

Leo didn't even glance at him. Didn't blink.

"Uh, Leo?" Mikey asked, waving a hand in front of his brother's face.

No response.

"Donnie!" Mikey yelled.

His entire family came running in.

"What's wrong, Mikey?" Don asked.

"There's something wrong with Leo! He isn't responding! Or blinking!"

Don's eyes widened, and he took a penlight out of his belt (why he'd put it there, no one else knew) and turning it on, grabbing Leo's eyelids and shining the light in.

Nothing.

Leo's glazed-over eyes just stared forward.

"Damn it, Leo! Wake up!" Don swore, snapping his fingers in his brother's face.

Nothing.

"He's catatonic! Great! Something _else_ for me to fix! I already have to get that stupid drug out of his system and now he's freaking _catatonic_!"

"Actually," Mikey started, making Don glare at him, breathing heavily from his rant, "Leo said - ahem- _hinted_ that he didn't want the drug out of his system..."

Don groaned, putting his face in his hands. "Of course he doesn't! He's scared of me and from how he's acted probably thinks I'm going to do something awful to him!"

Mikey patted him on the back. "Easy, bro. He'll probably be fine. Judging on how there's a freaking drug in his system, this probably isn't a normal case of catatonia. He'll probably be fine in an hour or so."

Don sighed, calming a bit. "OK. But don't leave him here. Take him to his room and watch him, Mikey."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Sunshine, sir!" Mikey smirked, giving a fake salute as Raph, whom he'd quoted, picked Leo up and carried him to his room.

Splinter glanced upstairs at his son, then went to his room.

* * *

 _Done! Took way too lang! Had a meet yesterday, and my sisters hogged the computer all week! Sorry! Wolf Bites will probably be up in a few hours! OH! Also, I'm doing another contest! Only lasts until next chapter of this story. What episode did Mikey quote Raph from in the 2003 series? You only get ONE guess! No re-dos. Whoever guesses first gets a One-shot request!_ _Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	20. Another Memory and Cuts

_Hope you like! Contest is over! No one guessed! :( Thought people would want it, but... *shrugs* If they don't, they don't. Too bad. I'd've taken any request. Anywho, enjoy! :)_

* * *

Leo leaned against his cell wall. He was bored again. He'd finished his food, he didn't want to sleep and was making that his source of 'entertainment': staying awake.

It wasn't very entertaining.

He stretched his sore limbs.

 _I can entertain you._

 _'No. You have been pestering me for 3 weeks. I would love to not hear you for just one day.'_

 _Well, no._

Leo tried to groan, but it came out as more of a sigh. _'Please. I'm going insane as it is!'_

 _Noop._

 _'Fuck you.'_

 _"Leonardo, do not look so pouty,"_ a feminine voice scolded lightly from the ceiling.

Leo rolled his eyes and gave the camera the finger once more.

" _Leonardo... do not make me come in there!_ "

Leo rolled his eyes and glanced at the door, where he could see the wall of the hallway. He walked over to the window and stuck his tongue out; even though he couldn't see any Elites, he stuck his tongue out just out of spite.

He was **_BORED._**

He was... tired...

* * *

 _Leonardo once again found himself in the Lair. In the kitchen, trying to enjoy his breakfast before training. Donatello came in casually, holding something behind his back that Leo didn't notice._

 _Until he felt a prick in his neck._

 _He rubbed the affected area. "Donnie, what is this?"_

 _"Oh, nothing," Don answered slickly as he grabbed his coffee._

 _Leo glared at him, knowing he'd regret not finding out what it was later._

 _But he didn't really care._

 _A few minutes later, he dragged Don to the dojo, letting him finish his coffee first. Their warm-clad brothers were already there, pestering each other. Leo sat next to Mikey while Don sat next to Raph. Splinter walked in a few seconds later, and Leo bowed his head deeply. "Good morning, Master Splinter..." he greeted, but then held back a groan._

 _His head hurt so bad!_

 _Don smirked from the other side of the line._

 _Leo ground his teeth in pain, closing his eyes tight._

 _"Today, since it is Saturday, we will be only sparring. Donatello against Leonardo, and Raphael against Michelangelo. Whoever wins those will go against the other winner. Understood?"_

 _"Yes, sensei," his three younger sons answered._

 _"Uh-huh," Leo choked out, biting back nausea._

 _"Excuse me, Leonardo?" Splinter asked, tail whipping angrily._

 _"Yes, sensei," Leo said painfully._

 _"That is what I thought. Places!"_

 _Don smiled innocently at Leo as he took out his bō staff. "You feeling OK, Leo?" he asked casually as Leo grabbed for his katanas, missing a few time but eventually getting them._

 _"Fuck you," Leo hissed/slurred at his brother._

 _"Go!"_

 _Don charged at Leo, swinging his_ _bō staff at his brother. Leo barely blocked it with his katanas._

 _"I asked Splinter specifically if I could spar against you today. Didn't know if he would, but it'd be entertaining to see you stumble like this either way. I almost asked if you could spar against Raph, 'cuz this was his idea, but I'm not complaining!" Don chuckled as he swung his_ _bō staff at Leo's head._

 _Leo yelled in pain as it came into contact, ducking out of the way of the next hit. Don smiled and tripped him with his staff, and Leo fell._

 _"Leonardo, sit at the sidelines!" Splinter commanded, where Raphael was._

 _Leo nodded obediently and sat next to his brother, doing everything in his power to keep his cereal in his stomach._

 _Raph looked at him with a grim smile. "Ya betta not puke on me."_

 _Leo leaned against the wall, rubbing his head. "When will this headache go away?" he moaned._

 _"From what Don tol' me," Raph chuckled, "'bout 3 days."_

 _Leo moaned quietly as he cradled his head._

 _Leonardo ground his teeth as darkness began to enclose him._

* * *

Leo woke up strapped to a table. _'Dammit!'_

Karai walked in. "Leonardo," she said slickly, "you have been told time and time again to show respect!"

 _'Is she serious right now? I haven't gotten punishment for giving her the finger since the first time I did it!'_

 _That's more than likely because you haven't done it since then!_

 _'Oh...'_

Karai took out her scalpel. That damned scalpel... Leo glanced down at his arms, which were completely scarred. Least they didn't hurt anymore. He bit the inside of his cheek as Karai approached.

"What should I cut this time?" she hummed, drawing the blade down his face. "Maybe your pretty face?" His plastron. "Your protective shell?" His thigh, making him shudder. "Or maybe your beautiful legs?"

Leo would've loved to stick his tongue out at her right then...

Instead, he struggled against the straps, some of his previous fight making its way back into him. Karai smirked. "Legs it is."

Leo gasped in pain as the scalpel was plunged into his sensitive skin, but once again were carefully placed to cause pain but not serious injur.

She didn't want her little toy to break, after all...

Yet.

The cutting stopped, and Leo's closed eyes opened hesitantly. When he saw Karai grabbing the disinfectant, and bit his cheek again. He looked down at his legs, which were almost red but not quite. Just a brownish color with the small amount of blood...

Karai put a soaking wet dishrag on his left leg, making him silently cry out in pain. Karai heard the whistle of air and smiled evilly, continuing to painfully clean his wounds.

 _'It's worse the second time.'_

* * *

 _There! Done! Little late from what I said in Hamato or Oroku, but whatever! I had to go to a stupid playground today, so this would've been up an hour earlier if I hadn't! Sorry!_ _Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	21. Catatonic

_Hope you like! Sorry it's late! But I should have more time to do things now because swim is over! Yes!_ _The Lair now! Remember what happened to Leo? (¬‿¬)_ _Enjoy this! :)_

* * *

"No! No, I want to go back!" Leo cried, grabbing his head.

 _"Sorry. No can do."_

Leo closed his eyes. "Lemme go back lemme go back," he repeated to himself, as if that would send him back to the couch and let him just sit on the couch with Mikey watching a crappy show...

 _"No."_

"Then why am I here?!"

 _"You didn't think that you had actually escaped Karai, did you? Heh!"_

Leo turned away from the mirror image. "Once again, fuck you."

With that, he went toward the door. He was trained by the great Splinter. He'd even trained with the Ninja Tribunal for a few months. Not that he'd done great with his training, but still.

Why was he incapable of escaping his own mind?

He pounded on the door. No Elites. No Karai. Ha. He'd forgotten that part.

 _"Not forgot. I just don't need her here to torture you."_

"*GROAAAAAAAAAANNNNN*"

Leo plopped onto the floor dejectedly. "I'm dead. I'm dead. I will kill myself in my mind just to fucking get away from you," he rambled.

He felt a slap on his head.

"Ow!"

'Leo' stared down at him, glaring hatefully. "Get up, you wimp!"

Leo slid further down the wall he leaned against. He hugged his knees to his chest as he tried to just disappear.

The world around him started to darken...

* * *

 _"This will hurt very much, Leo, I'm not sorry to say. Which is why you will not have anesthesia during this operation. Now, open wide!" Donatello singsonged as he took out a scalpel._

 _Leo clamped his mouth shut from where he lay strapped to a table. "Yeah, right," he muttered through his nose, mostly. He alone had been taught to do that in case they were ever captured and gagged._

 _Don sighed exasperatedly and took out a needle, quickly putting into Leo's bloodstream. "Then I'll make sure you cannot move your jaw."_

 _Leo's mouth slowly hung slackly open. "Ya 'us' sai 'ere no ane'taga."_

 _"Oh, there isn't. You can still feel the pain."_

 _Leo groaned, rolling his head to the side. Don grabbed it and steadied it. He then grabbed Leo's tongue, drawing it completely outwards to the point where Leo was already in pain and put the scalpel to it._

 _With that, he plunged the scalpel into Leo's tongue._

 ** _LINEBREAK BUT IT'S THE SAME MEMORY_**

 _Leo had never been in so much pain in his life. He did everything he could not to scream._

 _Don't scream._

 _Don't cry out._

 _Don't fucking WHIMPER._

 _Don was nearly done, with about half a centimeter left, but then he smirked. He ripped off the rest of Leo's tongue._

 _"AAAAHHH!"_

 ** _LINEBREAK BUT IT'S THE SAME MEMORY_**

 _Leo woke up again on that table. "Ooooww," he moaned._

 _"Ah, I guess you were right. You can still talk," Don's deceivingly gentle voice hummed from the corner of the room, where he sat and read a book._

 _"Atho'! (Asshole!)" Leo yelled back at him, despite the pain it took to so much as talk. His tongue was no longer bleeding at the stub, which was kind of a good sign to him._

 _"I'll take out your vocal cords," Don shrugged as if it were nothing._

 _"Wha?!"_

 _Donatello grabbed another clean scalpel and held it to Leo's throat. Leo struggled to swallow, the lack of tongue making it hard._

 _Leo grit his teeth as his throat was cut open, but almost no blood flowed out. His eyes narrowed at Don, who smiled 'sweetly' back. "What? You don't think I don't know how to slit someone's throat only for pain?"_

 _Leo grimaced, the knife making an opening to the inside of his throat. "Y'r w'rd."_

 _"Thanks."_

* * *

Mikey rubbed his eyes, trying to stay awake. It had been almost 12 hours since Leo had gone catatonic, and he had run out of comics to keep himself entertained. His eyes fell on something under the bed and he curiously grabbed it.

Leo's sketchbook. He knew the last drawing, from before Leo had been kidnapped, so he check if anything else had been drawn.

The... Shredder?

Why?

He glanced at his blue-clad brother, who was under his covers and staring at the ceiling.

What was his brother seeing?

Was he seeing anything?

He didn't know a lot about catatonia.

Even Don hadn't thought the information would be useful so he'd skimmed an article and left it that.

He looked at Leo. "Leo? Can you hear me? If you can, please come back!"

He hadn't thought it would work, but Leo blinked.

Mikey's eyes widened. Leo's glazed-over eyes started to clear.

* * *

Leo's sight was torn between the ceiling of his room and the cell. He could see them both! He immediately leaned toward his room, but right before he fully lef the cell, he heard his own, somewhat scarier voice echo...

 _"Run, run, run, turtle. You can't escape me!"_

* * *

Leo blinked again as his eyes completely cleared.

When did he get in his bed?

Wan't he with Mikey on the couch a second ago?

"Leo?"

Leo jumped and saw Mikey on a chair next him, his sketchbook in hand.

He snatched the thing back and hid it under his covers. He took out his notepad and scribbled something on it.

'Weren't we just on couch?'

Mikey's eyes narrowed confusedly. "Leo... You were catatonic for 12 hours."

Leo blinked, then shook his head. He didn't remember that. Therefore, it hadn't happened.

"Yes, you did. We were watching TV and then you just were staring. I'm surprised your eyes didn't dry out," Mike retorted.

"Hey, Mikey, is Leo up yet-?" Don asked as he opened the door.

Leo dove under his covers in fright.

Don blinked. "Leo?"

The covers started to shake with Leo as Mikey picked them up a bit.

Leo was covering his mouth as tears streamed down his face. His mouth was moving from under his hand, coming out in unintelligible gasps.

Don stepped back slowly. "Whoa. Easy, Leo. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Leo squeezed his eyes shut.

Mike barely heard it, but Leo gasped 3 words he could just make out:

 _"Took my voice."_

The younger turtle's eyes widened and he turned to his genius brother. "He thinks you took his voice," he relayed.

Don gasped.

* * *

 _Alright, I'm sorry about the gasping talk thing, but I had to make sure they knew that and Leo probably wan't capable of writing it in his current state. Sorry! *rubs head sheepishly* But the chapter's here, right?! Right?! Or I could delete it and retype the whole damn thing like I've done so many times! :( JK. :) Sorry again._ _Review, rant, flame, give requests, check out my community, and vote on my poll! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	22. Inner Musings

_Hi!:)_

* * *

Karai leaned back in her chair in the control room, watching Leonardo break in isolation. She mentally reviewed her progress. He was turning against his family, if her drugged food was working in her favor _,_ and he was hearing the voice, one of the definite side-effects of the drug.

And, he was becoming quite submissive.

And the episode! Ah! Karai smirked in joy, hiding the fact from the Elites and doctors monitoring the turtle with her. That would most definitely come in handy!

She zoomed in on his legs.

They were healing OK enough, for 3 weeks. He had been prisoner here for about... She counted on the calendar in his cell. Almost 2 months. She'd broke him much quicker than she'd anticipated. It had only taken a few weeks.

Then again, experiencing that much pain and no longer being able to talk can do something to a person.

Or freak.

Whatever.

She shook her head and zoomed back out. The freak deserved every ounce of pain he'd experienced. Every ounce of pain he _would_ feel. He'd taken her father from her. He had taken away the statue of her father. He'd nearly disembodied her entire army with his brothers.

He deserved this _dearly_.

She saw his cover his face and smiled evilly, tongue touching her teeth.

This was most certainly entertaining.

* * *

Leonardo Hamato was slowly losing his mind. He'd known that for a while now, but it was all really starting to crash down on him, now.

What if Mikey found him like this? He couldn't do this to his caring brother.

The others... he wouldn't be surprised if they were happy with him gone.

April and Casey, though...

Casey would probably get him self killed.

April would kill herself because of that.

Mikey would more than likely follow them.

And that wasn't what he wanted.

Sighing, he stood up and stretched his limbs. He looked to the chains that Karai had 'forgotten' to remove, dried blood still around the insides of them. He glared at the half-empty food tray next to them. He wanted to die.

But not here.

Not without Mikey and April and Casey.

He silently moaned, putting his hand on his face. He knew Karai was watching, but he didn't care.

There were few things he cared about anymore.

He mentally made a list:

1\. Getting home to Mikey

2\. Getting to April and Casey

3\. Staying sane for them

4\. Getting out of the hellhole.

And that was it.

He hardly cared about being in pain anymore. He didn't like it, obviously, but it didn't much matter to him anymore.

 _'It'd definitely be a lot easier to get out of here if they'd let me out of this cell. I've been in here for 3 weeks. I'm seriously starting to prefer having memories tainted.'_

 _Why would you want to get out of here? It's nice. No one disturbing you. No Raph or Don to try and kill you on a daily basis. No Splinter trying to kill you again..._

 _'Never mind...'_ Leo thought, rolling his eyes. Why had his mind decided to come up with _this_ thing to torture him? He was in the _Foot's hands_ ; he'd had more than enough torture, believe him.

Still bored, and probably going to be forever bored, Leo ate the rest of his meal.

And once again, he fell asleep.

* * *

 _Leo smiled as Casey walked in with the birthday cake from April's kitchen. They all had party hats strapped to their heads and were sitting._

 _Well, almost all of them._

 _Leo was leaning against the wall as Splinter sat in the chair and Raph, Don, April and Mikey sat on the couch. He was fine with that. As long as they were comfortable._

 _Leonardo sneered from the sidelines._

 _April gasped happily as the double-layer triple chocolate cake with cream frosting and a 35 candle lit up about half a foot of space. Leo chuckled and sang 'Happy Birthday' with everyone else, quickly losing himself in thought and singing on autopilot._

 _Casey noticed, and, grabbing an extra slice of cake when everyone else had gotten theirs, walked over to Leo. "Hey, man."_

 _Leo broke from his thoughts and smiled. "Hi."_

 _Casey handed him the cake, which Leo gratefully accepted. "Ya been feelin' OK, man?"_

 _Leo had been thinking about how he'd been yelled at for letting those gang members get away 2 weeks before. "Yeah. Fine. You know me: always thinking."_

 _Casey looked over at Raph, who was approaching. He glanced woriedly at Leo, knowing the problem between the brothers. Leo just shook his head subtly, closing his eyes as if waiting for an attack when Raph slung his arm around his shoulders.  
_

 _"Case-man, whatcha doin' talkin' ta this sad-sap?" the hothead droned as Leo rolled his eyes, smelling the not-very-light beer in Raph's breath. Casey was suddenly glad he hadn't let his friend have more than a few._

 _"Oh, just askin' him if he was OK. Seemed a little outta it," Casey answered smoothly. It wasn't exactly a lie._

 _"Well, he's borin'. C'mon, le's get ya a beer. Ya don't mind..._ do ya _Leo?" the hotheaded turtle asked, turning to glare at his brother._

 _"Of course not, Raphael," Leo smiled a fake smile as he answered._

 _"Good. C'mon, Case," Raph ordered, grabbing his human friend. Casey sent Leo an apologetic look as he was dragged away._

 _Leo just closed his eyes and gave him a big smile back. Fake, of course, but believable._

 _Leonardo face-palmed as he disappeared back into his cell._

* * *

Leo woke with a start in his cell.

Once more, no dreams.

Of course, that wasn't counting this nightmare he was in.

* * *

 _Done! Hope you liked! Please review, or rant, or flame... Anything that gives me feedback! I'll take One-Shot requests from anyone; no contest winning needed. Just put in your request and I'll get it done! Yeah? Fair deal! I think so, at least! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	23. Late Chapter

_Dammit. I already had part of this typed. Sorry. Also, do you guys think that I should reopen my Q &A or do a Frozen AU instead? Tell me in the comments and vote on my poll on my profile! It will be open until the end of the month, and then I will start typing up the first chapter. Enjoy this chapter of Captured! _

* * *

Leo refused to leave his room that day. He was scared and confused, the voice was yelling at him again, and his head felt like it was going to implode.

Not that he would ever make it known.

He knew there were fake labels on the pill bottles in Don's lab.

He'd been victim of them more than once.

Mikey stayed with him, only leaving to use the bathroom and get something to eat (which, Mikey assured Leo, Don in no way had a hand in preparing) for both of them.

Leo slept by himself, though. He couldn't be humiliated by his brother sleeping with him.

Mikey walked down to Donnie's lab. The genius was analyzing the blood sample he'd gotten from his brother, trying to find a way to at least get rid of the drug that was most definitely not supposed to be inside his brother. He'd never seen anything like it, though.

"Don?"

"What? What!? WHAT?!" the genius demanded, turning around in his swivel chair.

"Whoa. Easy," Mikey chided softly.

Donatello sighed, putting his hand on his face. "Sorry, Mikey. I'm just a little stressed, and..."

"Donnie."

The genius looked at his brother.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Don asked softly as his brother approached.

"I'm sorry about the other day... When I said..." Mikey went on, tears gathering in his eyes.

Understanding dawned in Donnie's eyes. "Oh... Mikey..." he said, standing up and hugging his brother. Mikey hugged back tightly, sobs wracking his body.

"I didn't mean it... You aren't the one that drove him away... I promise you...You are not a failure. You are not weak..." Mikey sobbed into his brother's neck.

"I guess it's a good thing I ran off, though, right?" Don asked. "Or we wouldn't have found Leo. The Foot might've gotten him again."

"Still. Take someone next time. I'm surprised the first thing Leo did wasn't chew you out!" Mikey chuckled, wiping his eyes as they broke.

"Probably because he hates me," Don muttered, smile fading as he sat back down.

"Oh... he doesn't hate you..." Mikey tried in vain. Leo really was starting to look like he hated the others. "I'll try to talk to him in the morning."

"...Yeah..." Don sighed. "Yeah, that might help."

* * *

Leonardo was losing his mind.

He was scrunched against the wall of his bed, knees to chest. His bandana was askew on his face, obscuring his vision partly, not that he cared. His hands covered parts of his face as tears streamed down his face. He was losing his mind, he knew it. Just like in that stupid cell!

Anger made its way into his mind. Staying in this hellhole with the mutants that had hurt him all his life and freaking _taken away his tongue_ was driving him insane. His eyyes started to glaze over.

He needed to get out of here. He needed to go out to the city...

To the _surface._

Oh, God, just the thought of it made him slip further away. To a state where he didn't have to worry about not hurting his brothers. Where he was free to do what he wanted.

 _Just go already!_

Leo's eyes completely glazed over, and he lost himself.

* * *

Don and Mikey started at the sound of the loud sewer door opening. They ran out of the lab and just saw the blue bandana tails of their brother's mask. "NO!" Mikey yelled as the door closed. He ran over and quickly opened it, running out and once again not waiting for his family.

Donatello was panicking. He didn't know if he should go after them or not. Raph and splinter ran in after a few second though. "What has happened?" Splinter demanded of his purple-clad son.

"Leo split, Sensei, and I don't know if I should go after him because he thinks I'm the one who took his tongue and he'll probably run away again if he sees me-" Don rambled, then gasped in pain as Splinter hit him in the head with his walking stick.

"This is not the time to panic, Donatello. Raphael will go after your brothers and you will stay here and try to find a cure for your brother," he ordered.

"Hai, Sensei," the two remaining turtles said. Raph took off, using his Shell Cell to track their brothers, and Don went back to his lab. Splinter sighed. "Stay safe, my sons," he whispered, then sat down to watch his soaps.

* * *

Leo was so close. He was so close to the manhole cover. Just a little higher...

Yes!

He climbed out and immediately sat on top of the nearest rooftop. Oh, how good this felt! He stared at the sun as it went down. It was beautiful! His glazed over eyes watched it intently.

Footsteps. They were quiet. He perked up and immediately stood up, turning around to face his foe.

Raphael.

"Whoa! Easy - yikes!" the red-clad turtle yelped as Leo charged at him. Leo snarled at the hothead, lunging once more. Raph gasped as a shuriken was throw at his head. When had Leo gotten weapons? They hadn't trained since Leo got back! In his moment of hesitation, Leo tackled him to the rooftop. "Leo! Calm down! I ain't gonna hurt ya, I swear on my life!"

Leo growled at him, snarl growing on his face and he grabbed Raphael's throat.

"Leo!"

Leo hardly flinched as Mikey landed on the rooftop. "Leo, you can't be above ground!"

Leonardo Hamato's eyes widened. And why, pray tell, couldn't he above ground? He wasn't crippled. He wasn't injured physically.

Bitches!

They couldn't tell him what to do!

He was completely fine physically and mentally!

He threw Raph's head down onto the concrete, and as Raphael gasped for air, he faced Michelangelo, unfocused eyes narrowed on the youngest. He huffed and took off, jumping into the alley and hiding.

Mikey went to check on his hotheaded brother quickly. "You good, Raphie?" he asked, looking at the bleeding wound on the back of Raphael's head from the impact.

"Yeah. I'll get back ta da Lair. Go get Leo before 'e does somethin' stupid," Raph said, sitting up and rubbing his raw throat.

"Yeah. Yeah, OK. Sorry about this, Raph," Mikey nodded, helping his brother stand up.

"I's fine," Raph dismissed as his brother hopped off the rooftop where Leo had gone.

"Leo?" the orange-clad turtle asked. Leo hid further behind the dumpster, silent as a mouse. He was scared, now. Like, really scared that he'd have to go back to the Lair.

Mikey sighed. "If you come out, I'll take you to Casey and April's so you can calm down, since you're obviously not in your right mind. Deal?"

Leo poked his head out from behind the dumpster, eyes starting to clear a little bit. Mikey spotted him and smiled sadly. "Please, bro," he pleaded.

Leo nodded hesitantly, following his brother to the rooftop opposite of the one Raphael was hiding on and making their way towards Casey and April's, Mikey shooting her a text to tell her and Casey they were coming.

* * *

 _WHY THE SHELL DID THAT TAKE SO LONG. PLEASE DON'T GET MAD AT ME FACKING PLEASE. I'M SORRY. BUT I HAD TO RESTART MY COMPUTER AT SOME POINT SO. SORRYSORRYSORRY. REVIEW. RANT, FLAME. VOTE ON MY POLL 'CUZ I GOT A NEW ONE! YAY. MY CAPS LOCK IS AWESOME. XD BYE!_

 _SHADOW_


	24. Escape

_Hola, como estas!_ _Estoy aburrido, así que escribí la nota de mi autor en español. ¡Espero que te guste este capítulo!_ (BTW if you can get this without a translator tell me and you get a prize! Please don't lie about using any sort of translator :( That'd make me sad)

* * *

Leo struggled weakly against the table he'd been strapped to. He was tired of this. He was tired of being in this hellhole, he was tired of LIVING.

 _'It's for Mikey. It's for Mikey. Mikey, Mikey, Mikey,'_ he thought, ceasing his struggles and closing his eyes.

Karai strolled in, that stupid same knife she always used in hand. Leo silently whimpered, looking away ashamedly. He'd lost all honor here. They'd broken him; he had no fight left.

Karai pulled her longer-than-Leo-remembered-it-being-when-he'd-gotten-here hair into a ponytail. She didn't know why she'd grown it out, but it wasn't awful. The ponytail gave her a more innocent air, though, and she was considering cutting it again.

She took the blunt side of the scalpel and ran it up his exposed thigh. He shuddered once more. _'Pleeeeassse don't do that,'_ he thought.

"What shall we cut now, Leonardo?" she asked. "Your pretty face, maybe?"

Leo silently whimpered and looked away. Karai slapped him. "Look at me, mutant!" she demanded.

Leo submissively obeyed.

Karai smiled slickly, her tongue between her teeth. Submissiveness was a good sign, most definitely...

" _Why am I here?_ " Leonardo mouthed to her. " _I didn't do anything this time._ "

Karai snorted, giving him a quick cut on the plastron that got the first layer of skin. It hurt, most definitely, though. "You deserve every ounce of pain you've experienced here, Leonardo. You think you need any more reason to be tortured?"

Leo stared up at her.

Karai cut his shoulder again, watching the blood seep out this time. She sighed. She should think of a new form of torture...

"Elite Guard! Transport him back to his cell!"

Leo's eyes widened as he was unstrapped from the table. "Do not struggle, mutant," Karai hissed at him.

He nodded fearfully as he was dragged out of the room.

* * *

 _Leonardo was in the Lair again. He was with Raph on the couch, the latter watching wrestling. "Hey, Leo," Raph said._

 _"What?" Leo asked with a roll of his eyes._

 _Raph smirked and gave his brother the finger._

 _Leo sighed._

 _Raph went back to his wrestling, and Leo read his book. He glanced up at the TV. "This i stupid, y'know."_

 _"No, it ain't."_

 _"We are NINJA, Raphael. We fight on a daily basis. Watching people fake fight is kinda... stupid, don't you think?"_

 _Raph placed his sai at Leo's neck casually. "No. Ya done complainin'?"_

 _"Yep."_

 _Raph chuckled darkly, giving Leo a small cut before putting his sai away and turning his attention back to the TV. "Tha's what I thought."_

* * *

Leo sat in his cell a few months later.

No.

No, no more sitting.

He had to get out of here.

He stood up quietly, running his hands down the length of the cell, looking for any kind of crack or weak spot. Nothing.

He got to the door, listening intently.

No voices.

He slipped on something, his hand catching the knob of the door.

...

It _opened_.

 _'You're fucking kidding me.'_

He opened it and looked around the hallway.

No guards.

 _'WHAT?!'_

He cautiously left the room...

On his own accord.

He'd been thinking about this for months...!

Where was the exit, where was the exit...?

5 yards to the right.

He ran out.

An alarm went off.

 _'No! That door has been unlocked and unguarded for possibly months and I am not about to let them throw me back in there and keep me from getting out of here!'_ he thought furiously as he ran out. He saw his katanas laying to the side of the doorway he'd just passed through and grabbed the conveniently placed weapons. They hadn't thought he would do this. Heh.

He found himself on the roof of the building when he made his way outside. He smiled, breathing in as he ran across the rooftops.

He herd footsteps behind himself and gulped as best as he could. He tried to speed up, but his lack of proper meals for months was most definitely getting to him, and he hadn't really done anything in that cell. He hadn't gained too much weight, though, but had lost a lot of muscle. He silently groaned as he ran. Thoughts ran through his head.

How long had he been in there?

6 months, he was pretty sure, if he remembered the date right. 6 months they had tortured him, tainted his memories in that room, and cut him. Splinter had been the one that tried to drown him, he reminded himself. They'd probably unlocked the cage early on. They knew he was too broken to try and escape.

But something had come back to him. Something he had once told Mikey.

 _"In this life, we only have each other. If one of us goes down, we all go down, so focus."_

If he were to die in that cell, everyone who he cared about and who cared about him would lose themselves in either guilt, anger, or sadness.

He didn't need that to be on his conscience.

A shuriken hit his already-scarred leg, and he gasped in pain.

He needed to get home, _now_.

* * *

 _Short chapter is short! I'm sorry! no, this is not the last chapter, I promise. There will be no more chapters with Leo's captivity anymore, though; I feel like they were all basically repeating. :/ Sorry! But this means more Leo recovering! Yay!_

 _*crickets chirping*_

 _SHADDUP! Review, ran, flame, and vote on my poll, please! I'd like to know if I should reopen my Q &A or do a Frozen AU! :D BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	25. Oh, no

_Hello! :D Back at the Lair for good! XD Finally! YAS! Hope you all like this! Also, I've come to a realization: most of my stuff is uploaded on the weekends or days I don't have school! And I know why! Because when I have school, I can't get on the computer as much because in my mother's mind school means homework which IS true, but I do it all in 10th period. I've never once brought my homework home since the beginning of middle school. :/ But I'm trying. Please bear with me._ :D _Also, shout-out to Nutella Swirl and guest reviewer Moon for getting the author's note on the last chapter! It was '_ _Hello how are you! I'm bored, so I wrote my author's note in Spanish. I hope you like this chapter!'_

* * *

Leo followed his brother into April and Casey's apartment, and Mikey closed the window behind himself. The blue-clad turtle was led to the couch, where he put his head in his hand, trying desperately to clear his head. He shouldn't be here. He should be listening to his brothers and staying in the Lair.

 _No! You have to stay above ground!_

"Leo?" a feminine voice asked him, startling him from his thoughts. He looked up into April's green eyes. "Would you like something to drink?" she inquired. "Hot chocolate, maybe? It's pretty cold out there."

Leo then realized his hands were shaking. He wasn't cold, though. He nodded anyway. April smiled and went to the kitchen, turning on the kettle that she often used for tea when Splinter or Leo came over, solo or with everyone else.

Casey came strolling in. "Hey, man!" he sais, high-fiving Mikey and patting Leo on the shoulder. Leo smiled in greeting, leaning back a bit. His eyes cleared and he frowned. He shouldn't have tried to go out. His brothers had said not to. He was supposed to do what he was told.

April came in, holding 4 cups of steaming liquid. She looked at the clear expression in Leo's eyes and smiled. "You feeling better?" she asked as she gave him the hot chocolate, along with the others, having been told of Leo's little problems.

Leo's eyes lit up at the taste and he nodded. For the first time in a while, he truly felt safe. No Raph to start hitting him for nothing, no Don to experiment on him, no Splinter to embarrass and abuse him in training just because. His friends and brother sat with him, sipping their hot chocolate carefully, as to not burn their mouths. He sat in comfort with them for a few minutes, more staring at his chocolate than drinking it.

* * *

April shrieked as she heard a cup drop to the floor and shatter. She looked to where the sound had come from and saw Leo staring into space, shattered cup at his feet (and apparently having landed on them, judging on the opened wounds that he'd gotten in captivity) and his hands seeming like they thought they were still holding a cup.

Mikey whined nervously and walked over to his brother, looking at him in the eyes. He'd done some extra research on catatonia while in Leo's room. They were glazed over, as expected. "Nice. Nice, nice, nice!" he muttered to himself over again. "He's catatonic," he told his friends. April's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh, is this what Donnie was talking about-?"

Leo's eyes widened at the name, and narrowed, but otherwise he didn't react.

Mikey hummed. "I read that sometimes people who are in a catatonic state can still kinda hear n some cases, and can even respond to command."

Casey gave a big grin. "Mikey, when'd ya start doin' research?" he jabbed.

April elbowed him, and Leo flinched.

* * *

Leo turned away from his mental counterpart. "No. I absolutely refuse. I am fucking DONE with you. Devil, take me now!"

* * *

Leo's hands clenched into fists. April saw and grabbed them. She leaned down and looked at his dull eyes. They stared right past her. "You can fight this, Leo," she whispered. "I know it."

Leo didn't react.

* * *

"No! I'm done!" Leo repeated.

 _"You can fight this, Leo. I know it."_

"April... If only..." he whispered, grabbing his head.

'Leo' smirked evilly. _"I'm not letting you out so easily this time,"_ he hissed with his smirk still planted on his face.

As soon as Leo had arrived here, he'd remembered his past encounter with his mental counterpart. This was how it was gonna work? He'd forget that he'd even gone catatonic in the first place and then it would be a never-ending cycle?

 _"Yes."_

Leo ground his teeth as he grabbed his head. "Stop looking at my thoughts!"

 _"This is your_ ** _mind_** _, idiot. You talking **is** your thoughts."_

Leo closed his eyes. "Send me back send me back send me back- OW!"

'Leo' slapped him across the face. _"For the last time, no!"_

"Then why am I here? I am in a cell. OK. I get that you want to torture me. But all you've done is say that I can't leave! You haven't messed with my mind or anything!"

'Leo' smirked again. _"Sure."_

* * *

Mikey patted Leo's shell in a comforting way. "You'll be fine, bro. We'll stay here until you come back to us," he said to his brother.

Leo twitched.

* * *

'Leo' suddenly smiled widely. _"You want me to do something? Fine."_

And with that, their two bodies combined.

* * *

Leo's head suddenly snapped up, and Mikey yelled and jumped back. Leo's eyes narrowed, but he still stared through Mikey with his glazed-over eyes. "Leo?" he asked quietly.

It was as if he'd set off some kind of bomb within his brother.

Within less than a second, he was on the ground, Leo's hands on his neck, cutting off precious oxygen.

* * *

 _Cliffhanger anyone? XD I'm sorry. Heh. Please, no one else guess the author's note on the last chapter. I don't think I can handle more than 2 requests at a time. :/ Once more, sorry. Anyway, review, please, and vote on my poll! Frozen or Q &A? BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	26. Another Attack

_Hello! :D LATE FRECKING WHY OMG I'M SORRY DX Y'know, this would be acceptable if I posted these huge-ass chapters, like there are some people who won't update for weeks, but they have, like, 12,000 words PER CHAPTER! I'm taking like 6-7 days to give you these tiny-ass chapters that are nothing!_

* * *

Leo's hands were unrelenting against Michelangelo's neck, tightening, in fact. Mikey was struggling weakly, but darkness was encasing his vision and he knew he'd pass out quickly.

April and Casey walked in from putting the cups (and cup remnants) in the kitchen, and April nearly dropped the bandages for Leo's feet. Casey ran over and grabbed Leo's arms. Leo hardly seemed to notice, glazed-over eyes focusing solely through Mikey.

Casey finally ripped Leo away from the orange-clad turtle, throwing him away from Mikey, giving the wall a crack and April a broken lamp. She didn't notice, though, as she went to check on Mikey, who's throat was bruising badly already. Leo got up as Casey grabbed the nearest object to protect his wife and friend, which was a shard from the lamp.

"Don'... hurt 'im..." Mikey rasped out as April shushed him.

The only sound in the room was Leo's heavy, uneven breathing was the only thing that broke the tense silence in the room as his unseeing eyes surveyed through each of them. None would be able to predict when he would attack.

He lunged at Casey.

The blue-man didn't react fast enough and was tackled to the ground. He stared up at Leo's blank blue eyes as they stared right past him. Leo had no idea what he was doing, the man realized. That drug Karai had put in him was affecting him in more ways than one.

"Leo..." he whispered quietly, and the blue-clad turtle pushed him harder against the floor by his shoulders, snarl deepening. "Leo, this ain't you. We're yer friends. Mike's yer bro. The drug inside'a you is doin' this ta you."

Leo's blank eyes widened a fraction. Then they narrowed. Casey gulped.

"We didn't hurt you, Leo," a voice rasped from across the room. Leo's head snapped in the direction of Mikey and April. Mikey had spoken. "We didn't hurt you. You're safe. Just please... don't hurt anyone..."

April shushed him once more. There was no permanent damage to her friend's throat, but he shouldn't strain it too much for about 3 days.

Leonardo looked down at Casey again, and the man closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to come.

It didn't.

Instead, Leo collapsed on the floor next to him, ragged breathing evening out as his eyes closed. April came over carefully and checked his pulse; he was fine, but unconscious. She gave this information to her husband and friend.

"O...K..." Mikey rasped once more. "In that case... I'm getting some water..."

"No, I'll get you some water. YOU are going to sit down and CASEY is going to call the guys and tell them to bring the Battle Shell so that we can get Leo home," April ordered, going into 'mother-hen mode', as the turtles and Casey liked to call it.

"Yes, ma'am!" Casey immediately responded. He didn't get anything good at night if he ignored that tone. (sorry I had to XD) He rushed to his Shell Cell, as he couldn't call the guys with a normal phone.

 _"Hey, Case. What up?"_ Raph's voice asked fro the other line.

"Can ya bring da Battle Shell ova here so we can get Leo back ta da Lair?"

 _"Man, I'm sorry, Case. Don's been fixin' it up an' he said that no matta WHAT, we can't touch it fer two weeks."_

Casey blew out his nose. "M'K. I'll tell Ape."

 _"Sorry, man."_

"It's fine." Casey hung up and went back to the living room, where Mikey was drinking warm honey, a natural remedy for a sore throat. It'd probably work a little better than water.

"Well?" April asked from where she'd lugged Leo onto the couch.

"I'd'a helped wit' dat," Casey said.

" _Well_?" April probed again.

"Don's fixin' da van, so we can't use it fer a couple'a weeks. We'll prob'ly have ta wait for Leo ta wake up'er somethin'. None'a us can carry 'im home, an' Mikey's hurt."

April groaned. "Nice.

* * *

Raph walked into the Lair, holding his not-early-as-damaged-as-Mikey's-but-not-perfect throat with one hand and rubbing the back of his head with the other, as it'd impacted the rooftop pretty good. Don, who had been pacing in the living room, ran over and practically dragged the hothead to the infirmary, setting him on a cot and getting his medical supplies. "So, what happened?"

"Leo wan't in his right mind an' attacked me, an' den Mike brought 'im ta April's and Casey's place. Said they needed the Battle Shell ta get 'im back, fer some reason."

Don sighed. "Of course."

* * *

Mikey looked at his unconscious brother. Leo's breathing was even, but ragged, and occasionally he shifted, something he didn't often do while sleeping. Michelangelo sighed. He'd heard April and Casey's conversation, and he was not happy in the slightest.

What he was worried about mos, though, was...

How would they fix Leo?

It seemed he got worse instead of better with every passing day.

Leo's breathing started to quicken, almost too quick for Mikey to catch, but he knew it meant that Leo was waking up. "Leo..." he rasped. The mute turtle looked at his brother, then away in shame. Mikey huffed. Of course, THIS time Leo knew what had happened. "Leo..." he tried again. Leo looked once more, a heart-breaking expression on his tortured face. "Leo... You have to let us... get... that drug... out of you..."

Leo's eyes filled with tears, but he nodded.

And for the first time in a while, it almost seemed that things would be OK.

* * *

 _I AM FINALLY DONE WITH THIS. OH MY GOD WHY DID I TAKE THIS LONG TO UPDATE. I AM SORRY. PLEASE REVIEW. MY POLL IS CLOSED; I AM DOING A FROZEN AU. :D BYE!_

 _SHADOW_


	27. Drug Removal?

_Hello, readers! I'm happy! Wanna know why I'm happy? No? Too bad! :D This is my most popular story! YAY! Over 7,700 views! And 58 reviews so far as I'm typing this! :) :) :) :) Anyway, hope you like this chapter!_

* * *

Leo and Mikey were driven to the Lair warehouse in April and Casey's old van, something they didn't really use now that they had newer cars. Leo sat in the front, staring out the tinted window, while Mikey sat in the back with April, who was examining his throat once more so they could make sure the orange-clad turtle was alright. Casey drove, glancing at Leo every now and then to make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

As they arrived at the warehouse, Leo seemed hesitant to get out of the car, looking at the warehouse. He knew getting anything removed from his system meant Don would be involved, and he didn't need that at the moment. He just wanted to stay calm for just one freaking day without attacking someone!

Mikey got out of the car and Casey opened Leo's window. "Leo," Mikey said in an authoritative tone, "get out of the car and follow me. Now."

Leo immediately obeyed, climbing out and following his brother to the elevator. April climbed into the front, and looked at Casey confusedly. The man shrugged.

"Bye, guys!" April called.

Mikey turned around and smiled, waving at the departing vehicle. April leaned out the window and waved back at them until they turned the corner.

Mikey walked his brother into the elevator, subtly shooting Don a text that they were coming down.

Don,from inside the Lair, jumped as his Shell Cell next to him rang. He picked it up.

'comin in elevator NOW'

Don scrambled to shut his lab door. He heard the loud elevator door open and running footsteps... toward his door-

"Oof!" he exclaimed as he was knocked backwards by the door.

Leo stood at the door, looking down at his fallen brother without remorse as Mikey came over and helped him up. "Mikey!" Don exclaimed once he'd gotten a good look at his brother. "What happened to your neck?!"

Leo glanced to the side guiltily as Mikey silently gestured behind him. Don immediately understood. "Ah. OK, let's get some ice on that bruising and I have some medicine here somewhere... Leo, you don't have to stay if you don't want to. I don't think anyone's watching TV-"

Mikey slapped him to her his attention. "Ow!" he yelped, looking at his younger brother. Mikey whispered something hoarsely into his ear, and Don's eyes widened. But a small smile formed on his face. Leo rubbed his arm nervously.

Don went to his freezer and got an ice-pack. "You guys can just sit down and I'll be right with you. Just let me fin this medicine..." he muttered to himself as he searched his cabinets. Mikey and Leo sat on the same cot, Leo drawing one of his knees up to his plastron and holding it with his left hand. _'No needles no needles no needles...'_ he internally chanted to himself.

Mikey saw his brother's nervous expression and patted him on the shell soothingly. Leo looked at him with fear-filled eyes, looking for reassurance.

"It's... OK, Leo..." Mikey whispered quietly. Man, that honey had done wonders! "I don't know what it is that Karai made you think, but he did not _ever_ hurt you purposely. He didn't take out your tongue, and he didn't experiment on you. You have to trust him. This is the only way to help you."

Leo stared at him with glossy eyes, then nodded.

Don handed Mikey a few pills and some water, and Leo watched his youngest brother's hand carefully, or more the pills. He snuck a suspicious look at Don, who was already at his microscope, and then his computer. Leo turned his gaze back to Mikey, who was swallowing the pills and water without difficulty.

"Alright, Leo..." Don started, snapping Leo to attention, "I've been looking at the blood sample you gave me the other day, and I have to say I'd never seen anything like it. But I think I've sort of got some kind of cure, but... it needs to be administered with a needle..."

Leo's eyes glazed over quickly in anger, his hands gripping the edge of his cot. Mikey noticed and started to whisper comforting words into his brother's ear slit. Leo breathed out unevenly, more in gasps, but he calmed down after a few seconds, eyes clearing.

"It may not work, Leo, so just be prepared if it doesn't. OK?" Don went on.

Leo shakily nodded. He scrunched his eyes shut, trying to block out the voice in his head.

 _DON'T DO IT! IT'S A TRICK! DON'T LET HIM DO IT!_

Leo's breaths came out in uneven gasps. No. No, not now. He blew out of his nose as his brothers watched on, ready to intervene. Leo closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. He entered a light meditative state.

Mikey and Don glanced at each other as Leo became unresponsive, eyes closed. "Go ahead, I guess..." Mikey muttered.

Don nodded and administered the needle into a carefully-placed vein, and Leo flinched, but otherwise didn't react. Don sighed in relief and put the contents of the needle into Leo's bloodstream.

Leo's brow furrowed in concentration, as if fighting something off. Mikey looked at him confusedly. Leo's eyes opened with a gasp, and he saw Don taking the needle out of his skin. He scrunched his eyes closed again as a terrible pain hit his head. He started to shake his head erratically.

"Leo? Leo?!" Mikey demanded as he let out a gasp of pain and held his head tightly, eyes scrunched closed. "Donnie, what's wrong with him?!" he exclaimed.

"I - I don't know! I made everything foolproof from causing him pain at the very least!" Don answered as he grabbed another needle.

"What are you _doing?!_ " Mikey asked heatedly, not noticing the pain in his throat.

"I have to sedate him before he hurts himself!" Don yelled back as Leo punched himself in the head as if it would help.

Mikey's eyes widened, but he nodded. Don entered the sedative into another vein. Leo's eyes snapped open and he glared at Donatello, even as his eyes drooped closed. He fought it, struggling against his brothers as they held his hands away from himself. He soon fell limp in their arms, eyes closed as he lost the battle with unconsciousness.

* * *

 _FDGNSJFGBNDGTH O H / G O D / I T ' S / L A T E! :(:( BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	28. Searching

_Hello, readers, I understand I'm late. :/ Heh._

 _ALSO! OK guys, in health I've been going over tobacco and stuff and how some people need to have their voice boxes taken out and that's pretty much what I did with Leo! Me and my friend Ethan were talking on our way out of class about how if they didn't give them mechanical ones, they'd still be able to formulate words, even if they're rasped or something. So, I'll try to base anything Leo does off that, but, remember, this is fiction! ;)_

* * *

Leo was laid on a cot, strapped down by his wrists and ankles to keep him from hurting himself, despite the B-Team's hesitance to resort to such measures.

Little did anyone know that the drug contained a previously dormant fail-safe that was untraceable.

Leo's lips moved as he 'slept', sweat beading his forehead.

Mikey had gone to the living room with Raph, who had started watching TV a few minutes after the incident. He'd leaned on his hotheaded brother's shoulder, seeking comfort. Raphael had put his muscular arm around his brother wordlessly.

Don had taken another sample of Leo's blood to see what had gone wrong. He finally found the fail-safe and studied it, trying to find a way around it. No luck so far.

Leo's eyes snapped open and he immediately tried to sit up, then inhaled sharply as he realized he was strapped to a cot. He looked over to Don, who was at a microscope. He then proceeded to thrash against the bed.

Don looked up from the microscope and his eyes widened to saucers. "Leo! Stop!" he ordered.

Leo did so immediately, his breathing heavy. He looked confused for a moment, as if he didn't know why he had stopped.

Don came over to the bed, and Leo leaned away fearfully.

"I'm sorry, Leo," Don apologized. "I just needed to keep you form hurting yourself."

Leo rose an eye-ridge, not believing his brother.

Donatello put his hands up. "I swear on my honor that I will not hurt you."

Leo narrowed his eyes. Honor? That's what his brother was trying to trick him with? Donatello Hamato didn't have any honor left, hadn't from the first time he lied to Leo to get the latter into his lab.

Don looked into his brother's angry eyes. "Please, Leo. What will it take for you to believe me? I just want to help you," the genius begged.

Leo looked away. He ground his teeth and started struggling again.

"Leo, I said _stop_!" Don ordered once more. Leo glared at his brother as he did so.

Don examined his brother. "Leo, do you actually want to do what I say?"

Leo looked at him confusedly. He had to. He was supposed to do what he was told. What did he mean?

"Leo... You don't have to do what people say. You can make your own choices. You realize that, right?" Don asked carefully.

Leo made a confused face and shook his head. That wasn't right.

"Yeah," Don argued.

Leo shook his head again.

Don face-almed. "More for me to fix," he moaned, going back to his microscope.

Leo looked at the straps binding him. The last time he'd been in this position in the Lair he'd figured out a trick. He put his finger inside the wrappings that only he had on his wrists and took out a nail file he'd taken from April, which she hadn't been happy about, but it was for his own self-defense; she'd forgive him if she found out. Then, instead of using it as a lock-pick as a ninja would normally do, since there were leather straps, not cuffs, he used it to start cutting through the material.

* * *

A few minutes later, Don sighed. "The only reason I'm keeping you tied is so that you don't hurt yourself, Leo," he finally said, realizing he should've started with that in the first place. He looked to the table, only to see it was empty.

"Wha-? Leo? Leo!" he called.

Raph ran in within a few seconds. "What's wrong? Where's Leo?" he asked.

Don threw his hands up. "Why the hell would I be calling him if I don't know where he is!" he demanded as he ran out. Mikey was asleep on the couch, and, being the heavy sleeper he was, probably wouldn't wake up with all the noise.

"Master Splinter!" Don called, and Splinter cautiously came out of his room. He was doing the best out of his middle sons of keeping away from Leonardo.

"Master, we need help to find Leo," Don said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Was he not in your lab, Donatello?" Splinter asked.

"He lost 'im," Raph cut in. Donnie glared at his brother.

"We need to be quiet, guys, OK? Mikey needs some sleep and Leo will hide from us if he knows we're looking for him. Which he will," Don explained. "I'll look in the dojo and bathroom. Splinter can look in the kitchen and the storage room. Raph will look in the bedrooms and bedroom closets. Got it?"

His family nodded.

"Raphael, if a door is locked, you have rights to open it with your lock pick," Splinter said.

"Got it, Sensei."

"We'll meet back by the couch in 20 minutes," Don said, and with that, they went to look.

They all just hoped Leo was still in the Lair this time…

* * *

Don searched behind all the weapons racks in the dojo, finding nothing. "He used to hide in here when he wanted to be away from us…" he muttered to himself. He sighed. Used to. Leo would probably never be the same, even if he could remove the drug from his system and try to fix his memories. He couldn't talk, for one. Donatello didn't want to MAKE one. He had the distinct feeling that Leo didn't want a mechanical voice, either way. He hadn't been able to survey the damage Karai had done. It was probably unfixable.

He went to the bathroom. Unlocked. Nothing.

He sighed again. He hoped Raph and Splinter were having better luck than him.

* * *

Splinter looked in the storage room for his son. This was another one of Leonardo's usually hiding places. He had a variety, and it often took a while to find him.

The rat's ears flattened to his head. He wished he could see his son without some sort of reaction that Karai had implanted into Leonardo's mind.

He looked in the kitchen cupboards, the ones Leonardo could fit into. Nothing.

His eyes deviously made their way to the fridge. Maybe he could find a leftover piece of cake before his 20 minutes was up…

* * *

Raph sighed and closed his bedroom door. Why would Leo hide in his room? Or Don's? Mikey's made some sense at the moment, but no one had ever gone in there to hide, whether it be their childish games of Hide 'N Seek or avoiding everyone, not even Mikey would stow away in his own closet.

That left Leo's room.

He sighed, turning the handle.

Locked.

Nice.

"Leo, ya gonna let me in?"

Even as he said this, he had his Shell Cell out, texting to his brother and teacher that he'd found him and to relax.

"No," Leo's voice-less throat rasped through an inhale.

"Why?" Raph asked.

Leo threw something at the door.

"I have permission from our father to pick this lock if ya dun lemme in, Leonardo," Raph growled.

Leo silently whimpered from the other side of the door. He didn't want to let his mean brother in. He held his face.

 _Don't. Don't let him in._

 _'But… He'll come in anyway…'_

 _DON'T. LET. HIM. IN._

 _'O-OK…'_

Raph sighed as it stayed silent on the other side. "I'm comin' in," he sighed, taking out his lock pick.

Leo's eyes widened. No, no, don't come in…

Darkness engulfed his vision and he was back in his cell.

"NO!" he yelled.

* * *

Raph opened the door, only to see his brother staring right through him.

"Chikushō!" he muttered.

* * *

 _DONE! This one was a lot quicker than my others BECAUSE I worked on it in study hall before break started (don't tell my teachers XD) Please review! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	29. Answers

_Hello, people! *shit-eating smile* Yep. I'm late! Again! DEAL WITH IT! :( (lol just kidding)_

* * *

Raph sat on his elder brother's bed as Leo stared at the now closed-and-locked door. He may not be his brother's favorite at the moment, but he wasn't about to leave the unstable blue-clad turtle alone. They all knew Leo hadn't known what he was doing when he'd attacked Mikey after being catatonic; who's to say that he wouldn't hurt himself worse?

Leo twitched his fingers every few minutes, but otherwise didn't move or react to anything Raphael did. Raph looked around the room carefully, his eyes always going back to Leo every few seconds to check him.

The room seemed to be in order. The sheets were a little ruffled, and there was a thing or two on the floor, probably having fallen when Leo slammed the door when Mikey had made his mistake, but otherwise, it was fine. That was a good sign.

* * *

Leo pounded on the door to his cell, wondering why he couldn't leave once more. This was _his_ mind; he should be in control. But _no_. He was being controlled by some stupid drug Karai had put in him.

His doppelganger appeared behind him, and he made sure not to have his back to him - it; he wouldn't refer to it as a sentient being. It had no conscience and he wanted nothing to do with it.

" _Y'know, this would go easier if you'd just let me do what I need to. It'd be quick and painless. Just a snap._ " Dark Leo snapped, and Leo groaned, grabbing his head.

"No! I don't want to hurt them! They're telling the truth; I know it! Mike and April and Casey said they are!" he denied, scrunching his eyes closed.

" _Oh, it's the BRAT and those two idiotic HUMANS that's ruining my plans. That's easy enough to take care of!_ " The doppelganger smirked, and Leo gasped as darkness surrounded him.

* * *

 _Leo sighed. It was his turn for HEADBANZ. It had been punishment for arguing with his brothers during training._

 _"I don't like this game..." he moaned. "I suck at it..."_

 _"Fuckin' do it!" Raph exclaimed._

 _"Am I..." He decided to just go for it... "a book?"_

 _"WHAT?! How did you-?!" Mikey demanded. "You cheater!"_

 _"What? No! I guessed!" Leo defended himself, waving his hands._

 _"Nuh-uh!" Mikey retorted._

 _"Yes, I did!"_

 _"No, you didn't!"_

 _"Yes, I did!"_

 _Raph tackled his younger brother to the ground. "Shaddup! Leo won!" he yelled, more out of annoyance than wanting to defend his brother._

 _Mikey broke out of Raph's hold and tackled Leo, who had been unsuspecting. He started beating on his brother's upper body with his fists, not caring what he hit._

 _"YOU - MOTHER - FUCKING - CHEATER!" he yelled in between his punches._

 _"Mikey! Get off - ow! - me!" Leo exclaimed as Leonardo's memory immediately started to copy this over._

* * *

Leo's mind copied pain and abuse over all his memories of Mikey, April and Casey. He opened his eyes and he was back in his room. He looked to the side, saw a figure, didn't care who it was; he tackled them to the ground.

"Whoa!" Raph exclaimed. "Leo, get off! I's just me! I ain't gonna hurt ya!"

Leo ground his teeth, but got up, crossing his arms and sitting back on his bed. He took out his notepad, scribbled something down, and showed it to Raph.

'What you doing here?'

"Makin' sure ya dun hurt yaself'r lose it'r somethin'," Raph said grimly.

Leo sighed as he put his pad back in his belt. He was fine. He just didn't want to be near anyone anymore.

"Y'know ya was catatonic again, right?" Raph asked his brother. Leo bit his lip. No, he didn't know that.

 _He's lying to you, just like always! Just ignore him!_

 _'Yes, sir!'_ Leo thought sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

Raph pursed his lips in irritation. "Why ya keep spacin' out, too? Flashbacks, catatonia, what is it? Leo, we wanna help ya. Ya gotta undastand dat. If you would just answa us when we ask, we can help fix you!"

Leo glared at his brother. _"I'm not broken,"_ he mouthed angrily.

"Well, it sure seems like ya are! Ya can't talk, ya can't go a day wit'out attackin' someone, and ya keep goin' catatonic outta nowhere! What da hell did Karai do ta ya when ya were in Foot HQ?!" Raph demanded loudly, momentarily glad Leo's bedroom door was soundproof.

Leo snarled at his brother, insanity trying to make itself known in his eyes. He fought it down as he got in Raph's face. _"I'm. Not. Broken,"_ he mouthed again.

Raph ground his teeth angrily. "You know I hate admitting it just as much as you do, bro, but it's true!"

"No it's not!" Leo rasped out as best he could before he tackled his brother again.

Raph groaned as his shell impacted the ground and Leo snarled down at him. He knew his brother was lucid, so he wasn't too scared of what would happen.

Hopefully he didn't have any reason to be.

"Leo. Get da _hell_ offa me!" he ordered.

Leo ground his teeth at him. He did so.

Raph stood up and dusted himself off, not noticing his brother's obedience and putting it off as fear. "Will ya please jus' answa my questions?"

Leo plopped onto his bed and faced away from his brother. He then sighed, looking back at Raph's waiting face. He took out his notepad. 'fine,' he wrote.

Raph smiled and sat next to his brother. "First t'ings first: Yer aware dere's a drug inside ya, right?"

Leo nodded, a flat expression on his face.

"An' it's doin' all dis weird crap ta ya."

Leo nodded hesitantly as he fiddled with his mask tails, a nervous habit of his. He was pretty sure, but his brothers often lied. Raph was the only one doing OK with him since he'd gotten home.

"OK, we've covered that. Now, what makes ya freeze up outta nowhere?" Raph asked, hoping his brother actually knew.

Leo froze his fiddling. He didn't want to tell his brothers about the voice in his head. They'd think he was crazy, put him in a padded room or a cell or -

No. No, not a cell. The voice had already done that to him twice…

While he was catatonic. Oh.

 _You're lucky I let you remember that, you shit._

 _'I fucking hate you, did you know that?'_

"Leo!" Raph's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Yer spacin' out again! What is it, bro? Are dey flashbacks?"

Leo immediately nodded, unable to think of another excuse.

"OK. Tha's da age-old question. Now, what did Karai do ta ya, in a few words, if you want. Don't just write 'torture', though," Raph requested gently as he sat next to his brother hesitantly.

Leo small silent chuckle in response as he wrote something down, then frowned as memories hit him. He breathed out slowly, closing his eyes momentarily. He drew a picture in his notepad instead of writing.

Raph pursed his lips as Leo seemed to lose himself in the drawing. He hid a smile; Leo was really concentrating. It was the first thing he'd shown interest in since he'd gotten back, even if it was just of his capture.

Leo showed his brother the small picture, and Raph squinted a moment to see it. His eyes widened when the unintelligible lines formed into a picture. And that picture was Leonardo strapped to a table, as Karai delivered cuts to his arms with a sadistic grin on her face.

"Leo…" Raph breathed as Leo looked away in shame. He shouldn't have given it to Raph… He should've just kept it to himself. His brothers hated him; they didn't care. No one cared. He was just broken… Just a broken liability…

"Leo…" Raph said again, this time addressing his brother. Leo looked at him. "I'm sorry."

Leo nearly started, not having expected that. "What?" he mouthed in disbelief. He shook his head. No, no, Raph hadn't done anything!

 _Yes, he did, remember…_ the voice chimed in in a low, calm voice that Leo found hard to resist.

 _'N-no! No, he said he was sorry!'_

 _For what?_

 _'Um?'_

'4 what?' Leo wrote on his notepad.

"Everything. Whatever it is Karai put in your mind to make you hate us, I'm sorry for all of it. I'm also sorry for lettin' ya go out by yerself and not bein' able ta get ya outta dere sooner," Raph said wholeheartedly.

Leo's eyes shone with unshed tears. He gave his brother a smile as he sniffled.

"Thanks, Raph," he rasped out. Raph gave his brother his own smile.

"So, uhh, wanna get a quick snack'r something? I'm hungry!" the hothead then asked his brother, making the latter chuckle silently and shake his head. He nodded in response to the question, trust starting to fill his heart slowly.

* * *

 _FINALLY FUCKING DONE. HOLY SHIT THAT TOOK TOO LONG. Please review! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	30. New Chapter

_Hello, people! I'm really sorry I'm late! I've been super distracted lately. :/_

* * *

Leo glanced at his father on the way to the kitchen with his brother. Mike was on the couch, sleeping, Don was probably in his lab, and Splinter was in his armchair, watching his soaps and obviously ignoring Leonardo. Leo looked away and went to the kitchen, sitting at the table as Raph grabbed something from the fridge.

"Ya want, um… leftovers? Or a drink?" Raphael asked, wondering when the last time his brother had eaten was.

Leo looked up, and nearly started as he saw… himself. _Here_. He wasn't catatonic. Why was it here? It wasn't dark. He was in the kitchen and he was fine-

"Leo?"

Leo snapped his head over to his red-clad brother as his doppelganger smirked at him. "Um…" he rasped uncertainly.

Raph glanced to where Leo kept looking, but saw nothing. "Leo?" he asked once more.

Leo blew out of his nose and got up, grabbing a fruit and a grape soda. "Can't taste…" he rasped, pointing to his mouth and, more specifically, lack of tongue.

Raph immediately understood. "Oh. Sorry," he said sheepishly, grabbing some leftover potatoes from the other night. He put them in the microwave and waited for it to ding.

Leo ate from his fruit cup slowly, almost picking at it. Raph sat across from him as he waited. "Did they feed you a lot in Foot HQ?" he asked lightly.

Leo nodded. They'd given him a meal every day. Never anything wrong with it, even if he was forced to eat it. He wrote in his notepad. 'Yes. I was forced to eat it, tho.' Raph hummed in response, wondering why.

"Was there anything weird about it? Different taste? Um… ya t'ink dere was maybe a drug in it that helped with… this?"

" _Of course there wasn't_!" Leo's doppelganger exclaimed from where it was. Leo glanced at it. " _You never tasted anything wrong with it. You never smelled anything wrong with it. It was absolutely FINE._ "

Leo realized that Raph was still waiting for an answer and shook his head. Raph hummed again and stood up as the microwave beeped.

Leo's doppelganger walked up to Leo, who leaned back in his chair subconsciously. Why did it have to be here? It was going to ruin his only reprieve from… **IT**! At least before he hadn't had to see it!

Raph looked at his brother, who had his head in his hands. "Ya good, Leo?" he asked as he sat next to his brother at the table, blowing softly on his potatoes.

Leo nodded, stretching his face down with his hands before smiling at his brother reassuringly, pointedly ignoring his doppelganger. "Yeah…" he breathed. He was glad he was learning how to verbally communicate, even if it was really quiet.

* * *

Splinter looked towards the kitchen as Mike stirred. The orange-clad turtle smacked his lips as he sat up a bit, blinking his eyes. Splinter looked at him, and then more specifically at his throat.

His son had down that. His eldest child, the one that was always in control. The one with the level head. The one who could get over all of his problems.

But, not this one. And why? Because of that dishonorable woman, Karai. He sighed as Mike sat all the way up.

"You OK, Master?" the orange-clad turtle rasped. Splinter gave a small, sad smile. His youngest son, always so empathetic. He always had his family's problems before his own, which was a very good quality if you did not take it to the level Leonardo sometimes had.

"Yes, my son. I am just thinking."

"'Bout what?" the injured turtle asked, rubbing his throat and grabbing the water that had been left for him next to the couch, taking a few painful sips.

"Nothing important, Michelangelo."

"...It's Leo, isn't it, Master?" Mike asked.

Splinter sighed and hung his head, nodding once.

"Y'know, Master… It's not his fault. You know that, right?" the youngest rasped.

Splinter looked up at his son. "Yes, I know this, my son. It is just hard to imagine _Leonardo_ \- _my_ Leonardo - capable of doing these things to his brothers. He has always been the one in control. The one that had a level head and could fight down his anger. This Leonardo in our midst… He is almost a shell of himself…"

* * *

Leo came out of the kitchen and then ducked back in, listening to the conversation.

 _"...It is just hard to imagine Leonardo - my Leonardo - capable of doing these things to his brothers. He has always been the one in control. The one that had a level head and could fight down his anger. This Leonardo in our midst… He is almost a shell of himself…"_

Raph sighed into his hands, also hearing the conversation. He stomped out towards his injured brother and his master. "Y'know," he hissed at Splinter, getting close to his face, "fer a ninja Masta, ya sure dunno how ta keep yer freakin' voice down."

Leo sat at the table, head in his hands. His doppelganger walked over to him. " _See? They would've been FINE with you staying away. Splinter said you're a shell of yourself. Question is…" the doppelganger leaned in, "who were you in the first place? Just a freak? A monster, just like all those ungrateful humans said? And what does your family think of you? You're just a burden? A broken, somewhat sentimental animal, unable to be detained?_ "

"Shut up!" he whispered to himself.

It didn't stop. " _What will happen when they get sick of you? How will you survive when they kick you out and take your right to the Hamato name?!_ "

"Shut up shut up shut up!" Leo whispered again.

 _"Will you be so desperate as to go back to Karai's?"_

"SHUT UP!" Leo yelled as loud as he possibly could (even though it was still only about as loud as Mike's normal talking but still), gaining the attention of his 3 family members as he tackled the figment.

He fell to the floor, groaning, sanity leaving him as his doppelganger 'tsked'. " _Can't even tag a figment of your IMAGINATION, Leonardo? Pathetic_ ," it spat.

Leo shook his head and growled again. He continued to leap at it, not noticing as Raph came to the doorway and called his name. He hurled himself into it once more, where it was standing in front of a counter. He crashed head-first into it, and he groaned in pain, grabbing his head. Everything sounded distorted.

"... _OK_ …?" a faraway voice asked. OK? No, he wasn't OK! He was going to be kicked out of his own home!

"... _eo_?"

Eo? Who was that?

" _Leo_ …?"

'Oh.'

" _Don, get ov_ … _re_ …!"

He took his hands off his head, and was surprised to feel something warm and sticky on his hands. He looked at them and saw green and red fuzzy blotches. He let out a low whine at the pain in his head and looked up at the green and purple, and the orange and green to the other side of the purple.

Who were they…?

Michelangelo and Donatello…

His eyes narrowed as he scowled at them, swatting away Don's hands. No way. Not this time.

"...eo!" a gentle voice said angrily, and Leo immediately cringed. Don't let them hurt you don't let them hurt you don't let them hurt you… They wouldn't hurt you if you don't fight…

Leo let his body relax, no longer resisting as his brothers picked him up by his abused arms and laid him across someone's back. He looked at the fuzzy shell, trying to place it, when he was laid on a cot, as he could tell from the softness. He felt himself get sat up the smallest bit, and he scrunched his eyes closed with a wince. Why was this happening? Why didn't they just let him bleed out on the floor? They didn't want him.

He felt something on his head and hissed, grabbing the hand that had it there.

"Leo…! ...op!"

Why couldn't he hear? He grabbed the hand harder.

"Leonardo, my son! Please, let your brother help!"

What the hell did Splinter care? He'd said himself that Leo was nothing now.

And Don? His brother? He nearly scoffed. "Not brother," he rasped, making the whole room freeze.

"L...Leo?" Mike rasped, coming over. Leo leaned away.

"Get away," he whispered with as much force as he could muster, despite feeling weaker by the second.

"What?" Don asked.

"Get away…!" Leo tried again, a little louder.

Splinter's fuzzy silhouette got in his field of vision. "We will leave when you let us fix you…"

Leo's ears stopped working once more, something he wasn't aware of as anger filled him. "I don't need to be fixed!" he rasped out as he bucked his legs, feeling them connect with something. He immediately felt the presences around him distance themselves.

"Oh…" one voice in particular rasped, and his eyes widened as he shoot up on the cot, ignoring the dizzy spell as he saw Raph rubbing his plastron.

"Raph…" he whispered. He hadn't meant to… Raph had been kind to him… "I'm… I'm sorry…"

Raph waved Don away and stood up, whispering something to his family that Leo couldn't hear. Through his fuzzy - and clearing, thankfully - vision, he saw the purple-clad teen hand his med bag to the red-clad turtle and the rest of the family left.

Leo looked up with dull, large eyes at his brother as his vision cleared fully. He finally registered the pain fully and he groaned, scrunching his eyes closed.

"Easy, Leo… Can I fix dis fer ya?" the red-clad turtle asked. Leo whimpered silently and nodded, tears flowing down his cheeks as Raph cleaned his head and made him wash his hands under warm water. Leo then realized how cold his hands were.

As the injured turtle was placed back on the cot and he felt a stitching needle in his head, he flinched, but didn't pull away, despite the instinct to.

" _What are you doing?!_ " his doppelganger demanded from across the room, making Leo glance at him. " _He's probably doing shit to you!_ "

 _'He's fine. Please, just give me some sort of reprieve from this reality…!'_

"Leo…" Said turtle looked at his brother, who was wrapping gauze around his head. "I want ya ta try somethin' fer me."

Leo looked at Raph questioningly.

"Try. Try ta trust them. I don't know what Karai made - is makin' - ya think, but they are nice people. Well, Mikey's annoyin', but still."

Leo let out a tiny chuckle.

"Please, though. I'll be wit' ya. Unless I'm topside with Casey, but that probably won't happen very often wit' the Foot out more than usual-"

Leo stared at him, eyes wide with fear. They were looking for him. They were going to find him and take him back to the cell and she'd torture him more and, and, and…!

What if they found Raph?

" _You will never escape the Foot_ ," his doppelganger hissed at him. Leo shut his eyes.

"Leo? Whaddaya think?" Raph asked.

Leo blew out of his nostrils.

He nodded.

He had to at least _try_.

If not for Raph, if not for the sake of staying cooped up in the safe Lair from the Foot, then for himself.

* * *

 _Well, that was longer than expected. :) Probably why it took so long. *sigh* Please review! I'd like to know what you guys think! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	31. Revelation

_Hello, people! I'm late, and I'm fine with it. :/ NO I'M NOT DX_

* * *

Leo lay in the infirmary for a few hours, letting his other side pester him. He didn't acknowledge it, though; he didn't want to give it the satisfaction.

 _"Just leave this hellhole already! Raph's playing you for a fool, he's going to hurt you just like your family always does!"_

Leo looked away at Raph, who was on Don's computer. Leo couldn't see what he was looking at. Probably didn't want to know, judging on all the times Raph glanced at him with a weird expression.

The injured turtle glanced down at his arms and legs from where he sat. He then looked at his doppelganger. How come it didn't have any scars? It deserved them.

 _"I'm not a physical being. And believe me, you deserve them more than me."_

'Why? What could I have possibly done that makes me deserve this?!'

Darkness encased the injured turtle.

* * *

 _Leonardo frowned as he found himself on a rooftop, his younger self and Raph also there. Leonardo looked over the scene, immediately remembering it. This had been after he'd first met with Saki. Mike and Don were off at the side._

 _"What's this thing got on it, some sorta mind control device?! 'Cuz yer losin' it, Leo!" Raph exclaimed, taking the sword Leo had been holding from the blue-clad turtle._

 _"Hey, Raph; give that back!" Leo exclaimed, and Leonardo immediately felt for his throat. To be able to speak so clearly… To be understood… He'd taken that all for granted…_

 _Raph pushed Leo back. "Naw, ya can just get one'a yer new_ pals _ta get you a new one!"_

 _Leo yelled out in anger and tackled his brother to the rooftop, grabbing for the sword. "Give it back!"_

 _The fight continued, and Leo stood up, a good grip on the sword as he stood at the edge of the rooftop, Raph still pulling on the sword. Leo, in a moment of intense anger, flung his brother over the edge of the rooftop. His eyes widened, and he gasped. "Raph!" He looked over the edge, where Raph had dug his sai into the wall, but had a large gash on his face where it's grazed a fire escape._

 _Leonardo gasped. When had that scar gotten there? Was this what it was from?_

* * *

Leo 'awakened' with a gasp, looking at Raph, who was still on the computer. His eyes travelled to a scar on his his hotheaded brother's face. He could've sworn that hadn't been there before…

 _"Of course it was,"_ his doppelganger snapped, making the blue-clad turtle sigh. Raph looked over at him again, then back at the computer.

Leo, hardly on his own accord, started to stand up, going towards Raph. Raph looked at him confusedly. "Leo…?" he asked cautiously.

Leo gave him a look that said 'I'm not gonna hurt you'. Raph nodded after a second, not fighting as Leo felt the scar on his face.

Although he was confused. What was Leo touching? He did have many scars on his face, but none that went where Leo's hand was. "Leo, what're ya doin'?"

Leo looked at his brother confusedly. "When did you get this scar?" he whispered.

Raph blinked at his brother. "Leo… There's no scar there."

Leo put his lip out, thinking. No, that wasn't right, It was right there. He could see it, _feel_ it…

"Leo, look at me," Raph ordered, and Leo immediately focused back on his brother. "There. Is. Nothing. There. Why would you think that there is?"

Leo breathed deeply. Why did he think that? Because of the night at Shredder's… But it hadn't been there a few seconds ago, even before he'd went catatonic (something he remembered, he noted smugly). He glanced at the clock on the computer; he'd only been out for a few minutes, 5 at most.

He realized Raph was still looking at him, and immediately launched into an explanation of that night in his raspy voice, having to clear his throat every few sentences. Raph's confused expression never left his face.

"Leo…" he started after a minute of silence, other than the hum of Don's computer and Leo's heavy breathing. "That neva happened. I didn't scratch a fire escape, there's no scar there. Try ta believe it, Leonardo. Try to see that my face doesn't actually have a scar on it. That memory isn't real."

Leo's eyes inspected Raphael's face. He ignored his doppelganger, who was loudly protesting. The scar started to fade a bit, and Leo gasped.

"It's been lying to me…" he whispered to himself shakily.

"What has, Leo?" Raph asked gently.

"It…" Leo repeated, more to himself than his brother. He spun around to face his doppelganger, who regarded him with a flat expression. "You've been _lying_ to me!" he hissed raspily.

Raph tilted his head to see what Leo was seeing, but saw nothing. "Who're ya talkin' to, bro?"

Leo glanced backwards at his brother, then at his doppelganger, who smirked smugly. _"Tell him. Fucking tell him. Show them you're crazier than they already think."_

Leo breathed out of his nostrils. "No one," he muttered.

Raph still looked at him worriedly. "Ya sure?"

"Yes," Leo seethed, then breathed out deeply.

"Um… OK," Raph agreed. "Lemme check yer head again, Leo," he then said, standing up so he could see his brother's head more clearly.

Leo frown, crossing his arms as he let his brother do so. Why was he agreeing to everything? He didn't want to.

After a few seconds, Raph removed the bandages. "As long as ya don't whip yer head around too fast, yer good."

Leo nodded gratefully, glancing backwards at his counterpart hesitantly. "I've… Gotta go," he told his brother.

"Wait, what about spendin' time wit'-?"

"I will after," Leo promised quietly.

Raph stared at his brother for a few seconds. "Promise?"

Leo nodded, obviously in a hurry to leave.

"Fine," Raph finally agreed, then blinked as a few papers kicked up and Leo was gone.

* * *

Leo ran to his room and slammed the door to his room, watching his double calmly walk in.

"You've been _lying_ to me!" Leo immediately yelled (very quietly) at it.

 _"I have no idea what you're talking about,"_ it said calmly.

Leo growled. "Every memory you've shown me, that I am aware of, was a lie! I don't know what's real or not! That's why I can't trust my own brothers!"

His doppelganger smirked. _"I can make this all go away, you know. All the mistrust, all the tainted memories… But I can also make. It. Worse. So you better shut up and not tell your brothers about me. Got it?"_

Leo, whose eyes had went wide throughout the rant, nodded fearfully.

The doppelganger smirked wider. " _That's what I thought."_


	32. Drug Removal Take 2

_Hello, people! C:_

* * *

Leo walked out of his room, trying not to shake, and went to the infirmary again, where Raph was still on the computer. Raph looked at him and smiled a bit. "Ya good, bro?" he asked gently.

Leo nodded after a second. "Y-Yeah," he said quietly.

"So… Ya wanna hang out with one'a the guys? Don'd prob'ly be most beneficial, since yer good wit' Mikey…"

Leo raised an eye-ridge. What? No, he wasn't. Mikey was as bad as they were.

Wait…

He blew out of his nose. Mikey had seemed to be fine when he'd been here the first few days…

 _'WHY YOU-'_ he thought to his doppelganger, who smirked at him.

Raph stared at his elder brother as he spaced out again. He was starting to wonder if Leo had been telling the truth about them being flashbacks. "So…?" he asked, breaking his brother from his reverie.

"Um…" Leo thought for a second. "I think I should get the drug out of my system…" he rasped, internally smirking at his doppelganger, who he could tell was scowling behind him.

Raph smiled a bit. "Nice. I'll get Don, and then we'll see what he can do this time."

Leo nodded a bit nervously and sat on a cot, making sure there were no straps on it. He didn't want to do this… He didn't want to hurt… Not again…

No.

Don never hurt him.

The voice was just messing with him.

Right?

…

Yes.

Donatello was a kind brother.

He was kind, he was gentle.

He was pretty sure…

He had to be.

He trusted Raph. He knew Raph was kind and the voice was lying.

And he wasn't about to have that taken from him again.

He tapped his finger nervously on the cot as Don and Raph came in, Don with too bright of a smile on his face.

"Alright, Leo, I found out what went wrong last time. There was a failsafe in the drug that only activated when it was fought against. I'm really sorry."

Leo looked away for a second, staring into space, or more like glaring. Don looked at him. "Leo?"

Leo snapped back to attention. "Hm," the mute-ish turtle said.

 _-he grabbed Leo's tongue, drawing it completely outwards to the point where Leo was already in pain and put the scalpel to it._

 _With that, he plunged the scalpel into Leo's tongue-_

Leo closed his eyes for a second, shaking the memory. That wasn't Don. That was Karai.

"Leo, I'm gonna try something else. It may hurt a little bit, but not as bad as last time, I promise." Don was already taking an already-prepared solution to inject into Leo's bloodstream. He then stopped. "I'll also need to see a blood sample after I put it in, though."

Leo was already tense with the thought of being injected with something, but he didn't want any more blood removed. He'd lost enough in his captivity.

 _-Leo did everything he could not to scream._

 _Don't scream._

 _Don't cry out._

 _Don't fucking WHIMPER-_

 _-ripped off the rest of Leo's tongue._

 _"AAAAHHH!"-_

He shook the memory, glaring at his doppelganger, who smirked at him. "I told you~" it said teasingly.

Leo ground his teeth, paying attention to Don.

"Are you OK with that, Leo?" Don asked.

Leo sighed through his nose and nodded hesitantly.

Don nodded as Raph looked at his elder brother. Leo was obviously trying to hold something in. Probably keeping himself from losing it. Subconsciously, he readied himself to pounce on the mute turtle if needed.

Leo glanced at Raph, frowning. Nobody here trusted him. He didn't blame them, though. He didn't trust himself.

Don approached him with a needle, and Leo immediately tensed again. He breathed slowly from his nose, calming himself, as Don slowly entered the needle into his vein.

* * *

 _Leo growled and strained against the straps that kept him against the table. "Y'know, if I ever were to tell you where my family is, which I won't-" 'No matter how abusive they were,' "-I sure as hell won't be able to now!"_

 _"Exactly. You wouldn't have. My previous plan has obviously so I am going to my second plan: put you in as much pain as possible. Which is why you will not have anesthesia during this operation. Now, open wide!" Karai singsonged as she took out a scalpel._

 _Leo clamped his mouth shut. "Yeah, right," he muttered through his nose, mostly. He alone had been taught to do that in case they were ever captured and gagged._

 _Karai sighed exasperatedly and took out a needle, quickly putting into Leo's bloodstream. "Then I shall make sure you cannot move your jaw."_

 _Leo's mouth slowly hung slackly open. "Ya 'us' sai 'ere no ane'taga."_

 _"Oh, there isn't. You can still feel the pain."_

 _Leo groaned, rolling his head to the side. Karai grabbed it and steadied it. She then grabbed Leo's tongue, drawing it completely outwards to the point where Leo was already in pain and put the scalpel to it. She drew back with a smirk. "There is still a chance to tell me where your family resides..."_

 _Leo mumbled something incoherent. All Karai heard was 'o!'_

 _"Very well."_

 _With that, she plunged the scalpel into Leo's tongue._

 _Leo had never been in so much pain in his life. He did everything he could not to scream._

 _Don't scream._

 _Don't cry out._

 _Don't fucking WHIMPER._

 _Karai was nearly done, with about half a centimeter left, but then she smirked. She ripped off the rest of Leo's tongue._

 _"AAAAHHH!"_

 _Leo woke up again on that table. "Ooooww," he moaned._

 _"Ah, I guess you were right. You can still talk," Karai's smooth voice hummed from the corner of the room, where she sat and read a book._

 _"Bit! (Bitch!)" Leo yelled back at her, despite the pain it took to so much as talk. His tongue was no longer bleeding at the stub, which was kind of a good sign to him._

 _"I shall take out your vocal cords," Karai shrugged as if it were nothing._

 _"Wha?!"_

 _Karai grabbed another clean scalpel and held it to Leo's throat. Leo struggled to swallow, the lack of tongue making it hard._

 _"You can still tell me," Karai singsonged again._

 _"No!"_

 _"Very well."_

 _Leo grit his teeth as his throat was cut open, but almost no blood flowed out. His eyes narrowed at Karai, who smiled 'sweetly' back. "What? You do not think I don't know how to slit one's throat only for pain?"_

 _Leo grimaced, the knife making an opening to the inside od fhis throat. "Y'r w'rd."_

 _"Arigato."_

* * *

Leo gasped as he came out of the memory. It HAD been Karai! He could practically see his doppelganger seething where it stood, and then blank nothingness filled his mind, and anger took him over…

* * *

 _Done finally ;) :D Plz review!_

 _Shadow_


	33. Caught

:)

* * *

Raph immediately acted as he saw Leo move to lunge on Don. His elder brother struggled against his restraining hold. Ain't nobody going to tell Raph to not restrain Leo right now.

Don scrambled backwards in surprise. Why was this happening? The cure was supposed to work, he'd spent forever on it!

Leo started saying incoherent things to himself under his breath, obviously forgetting about them for a few seconds.

 _"-stop doing this-"_

 _"-I don't want to-"_

 _"-please, let me go-"_

Don glanced at Raph, who shrugged at him, obviously unable to hear much more than Don. Leo took the brief distraction and tried to break from Raph's hold, but his brother held tighter. Leo growled, a deep, throaty sound, as his hands clenched into fists.

He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to hurt his family. The drug was supposed to be gone…

 _"Maybe the drug is gone…"_ the voice hissed in his ear from next to him, _"but you will never get rid of me."_

Leo ground his teeth. Calm. Calm down. Just calm, things would be OK…

 _"Not this time,"_ the voice said, smirking by Leo's face.

Leo's eyes squeezed together, and with a burst of strength he didn't have, he broke from his brother's hold and lunged at his doppelganger.

As before, he missed.

A low growl resonated in his throat as an overwhelming urge to hurt _his brothers_ went through him, but he fought to put it to the side. He lunged again as his 'opponent' smirked at him, hands behind its shell as it side-stepped his attacks easily.

"...eo…! ...to…!"

What? Who was that?

Don. It was Donatello. His brother.

He focused on his voice, trying to pull himself out of his dangerous state. He didn't want to hurt his brothers. He didn't want them to have to drug him, make him sleep off this episode of his. He should be able to pull out of it himself without hurting anyone.

"Guys?" a raspy voice asked from the door, and Leo's eyes widened.

Mikey.

He'd already hurt him.

He didn't want to again…

 _"Oh, but you do…"_ the voice smirked in his ear, causing Leo to swing his fist at it.

 _"Missed me~"_

Leo ground his teeth and took another deep breath, trying to ignore it. Just block it out. It doesn't control you. You control it.

 _"No way, pal. But nice try."_

Another wave of mindless anger came over Leo, and he lost himself a bit more.

Again.

He growled. What was going on? Why was this happening? He wanted to leave…

He lunged.

Wait. Why?

He heard a yelp as someone barreled out of his way. Who was that? Did it matter?

Mindless anger.

Red tinted his vision as he lunged at the next thing that moved. He jumped around, snarl on his face as he waited for the next movement in his vision.

Nothing.

 _"Just stay still…"_ a familiar, yet far away voice said. _"He only lunges when we move…"_

 _'Yeah. Please, just don't move, guys. Let me calm down.'_

 _"Not gonna happen~"_

More anger.

Leo lost himself completely, letting his doppelganger take over.

* * *

Don yelled out as he was charged at again. What? He hadn't moved.

"Leo! Stop! This isn't you!" he tried, but Leo didn't even falter, almost like he wasn't even there anymore.

"Leonardo!" a sharp voice yelled from the doorway. Leo froze, a snarl making its way to his face as he turned to the new arrival.

Splinter was standing there, holding his cane in a defensive position. "Leave your brothers alone," he ordered, his eyes quickly sweeping the scene. Raphael was standing protectively in front of Michelangelo, and Donatello was currently closer to Leonardo than Splinter would've currently liked.

A twisted smirk set itself on Leo's face as he turned to the rat. Finally. His chance.

He lunged at the old rat with quick efficiency, faster than the rat remembered him being. Splinter dodged and was obviously trying to stay on the defensive. He didn't want to hurt his son, after all.

Leo saw what the ninja master was doing and ground his teeth. As much as he wanted it to be easy to off the rat, he couldn't do so yet. He wasn't powerful enough yet.

So he was good with just injuring Splinter for now.

Before Splinter knew what was happening, a firm kick had been placed upon his chest. He flew across the room and was knocked into a desk.

"SENSEI!" "SPLINTER!"

Leo smirked at the fallen rat, running at him in his stunned state and kicking him again.

"LEO! STOP!"

* * *

Leo blinked as awareness returned to him. What? What had happened…?

Splinter…

He scrambled over and grabbed the limp ninja master. "M-Master…?" he asked in his raspy voice, sniffing.

Raph ran over as Mikey and Don stood in shock and helped their father up. Don blinked as Splinter was laid on a cot and immediately went to trying to heal him.

Leo, from where he was standing, had silent tears streaming down his face. What had he done?

 _"What you've been wanting to do since you got back to this hellhole,"_ his doppelganger smirked, then disappeared from his vision.

Mike glanced at his eldest brother hesitantly, walking over and putting a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Hey..." he said hesitantly, his voice still a bit scratchy. "You OK…?"

Leo blinked, and ground his teeth. He couldn't be here. Not after what he'd done to his Master; his Father.

Shaking his head, he shrugged out of his brother's gentle hold, trying to subtly leave. When Mikey was looking towards the bed, he made a quick, silent grapevine toward the lab door.

No one noticed.

He slipped out the door and ran out of the Lair through the silent sewer door.

* * *

Leo ran through the sewers, tears streaming down his face without a care. _'How could you do this to me?'_ he asked his doppelganger over and over, but it never appeared.

He fell to his knees about 4 miles from the Lair, unable to run anymore. God, he was a monster. He shouldn't be here… He didn't deserve to be with his brothers… He didn't deserve to be with his Master… He didn't deserve his friends…

He sniffled and sobbed toward the ground, ashamed of himself.

He felt a presence behind him, a false presence that shouldn't have been there…

"God, get away from me!" he tried to yell hoarsely, but at this point it came out as more of a squeak. Tears were clogging his throat. "I'm done! You win! You win…!" he sobbed, falling back against the wall with a hand on his face.

He could hear a smirk behind him. _"Not yet, little turtle~ I'm still having my fun with you~"_

Leo ground his teeth. Why him? Why not some evil person in the world? He had been good. He saved innocent lives.

 _"And killed a lot of innocents, too,"_ his doppelganger reminded him.

Leo blew out of his nose. "That was not my fault. They were doing wrong," he rasped, silent tears still falling down his face.

 _"But they were innocents~"_

"STOP!" Leo yelled, but once again it was just a squeak. "Stop talking to me! I don't want you here! You are not me! You are a side effect! That's it! A side effect of that stupid drug!"

His doppelganger smirked. It looked to the side. Leo followed its gaze hesitantly, and he saw his warm-clad brothers standing there, eyes wide in shock and confusion.

* * *

 _Done! :D Review pls_

 _Shadow_


	34. Caught Pt 2

_:)_

* * *

Raph and Mike stared at their elder brother in confusion. Leo stared back with red, glassy eyes, then turned away in shame. He hadn't meant to do that. He hadn't known they were there. He should've just kept quiet. That was why Karai had taken his voice; to get him to shut up.

No one should have to hear his voice.

He clamped his beak shut, looking at the sewer floor. He could hear his brothers whispering, and could practically hear his doppelganger snarling at him. That brought him a small bit of satisfaction; even though it obviously wanted his brothers to think he was even crazier than they already knew, it obviously didn't want to be discovered, either, lest his brothers find a way to get rid of it.

"Leo…?" Raph finally tried, putting his hand out to reach his brother's shoulder. Leo scooted away, not looking at them.

Mikey looked at Raph in confusion, then took out his Shell Cell, typing something in to Don. Raph nodded at him quickly.

Leo looked down at the ground still. Just leave. Just leave, forget that this happened…

"Go away…" he whispered, tears pricking his eyes again. No, he couldn't cry in front of them. He couldn't. He forced them away with a sigh.

Raph and Mikey glanced at each other in concern. Don was stuck in the lab with Splinter, but they had to get Leo back home somehow.

"Leo, can you come home with us…?" Mikey asked hesitantly for lack of better ideas. Leo ground his teeth, clenching his eyes shut. No, just go home without him. He'd be home soon.

Maybe…

"I don't want to…" he whispered quietly, his voice cracking as he saw his counterpart disappear.

"Leo… Please, we need to go see Donnie…" Raph tried lightly, but Leo finally turned to face them, anger slowly seeping into his system.

"I don't want to see Don!" he squeaked, flushing red in anger and embarrassment at his stupid voice. "I'm fine! Please, just let me be by myself for a while!" He stopped at the pain in his throat, probably from overexertion, and huffed, his heavy breaths being the only sound to break the silence.

"Alright… We won't bring Don… I promise." Raph said gently. "But we can't leave ya here alone… I'll stay wit' ya, OK? Mikey can leave and go check on Splinta, OK…?"

Leo sighed, burying his face into his knees. "I want to be alone…" he repeated.

"Ya won't even know I'm here. I promise," Raph said as Mikey slowly crept away, nodding at the hothead on his way back to the Lair. Raph acknowledged him as Leo thought it over quickly.

"F-fine… Just stay away…" he finally agreed.

Raph smiled, going to the tunnel beside that one and sitting down, concernedly listening as his brother muttered to himself.

This wasn't supposed to be happening. The drug was gone, why was Leo still acting so weird? Not that he expected his brother to really be normal. After all the tortue he'd been through for 6 months, he doubted even Mikey did.

But still; he thought there was _someone else in the sewers with him_. Even Karai couldn't have possibly sunk to that kind of low…

Could she?

Personally, Raph wouldn't put her above it. That bitch had had it out for his brother for almost a year now.

He blinked as he heard a sniff to his right, and he saw Leo standing there, tears streaming down his cheeks, a lost look in his eyes. Without saying or squeaking anything, the blue-clad turtle sat down next to his brother and leaned his head on his shoulder wordlessly. Raph blinked again, but didn't say anything.

Leo sniffed on his shoulder, and Raph slowly, making sure Leo was aware of it, put an arm on his brother's shoulder, trying to comfort him. Leo relaxed under his touch, silently weeping.

And they just sat there for about an hour, calm and silent.

"I-Is Splinter OK…?" Leo finally asked, sniffing a bit as he slowly stopped crying.

Raph nodded. "Little banged up, but ya didn't nail 'im dat hard. He's been through too much ta get put down by ya."

Leo sighed lightly, trying to smile. Splinter was OK. That was good.

Raph smiled lightly as he saw his brother's half-smile. That was better than the previous sobbing, definitely.

"I… I'm sorry," Leo said out of the blue, after a few minutes of silence.

"It's not yer fault, bro…" Raph said softly, but Leo shook his head.

"Yes, it is…!" the blue-clad turtle retorted immediately, whispering as to not strain his throat any more. "I'm the one who attacked him! I'm the one who couldn't control myself! I'm the one who rendered him unconscious and on a stretcher!" Tears were making their way into the corner of his eyes again.

Raph frowned. "It's Karai's fault, Leo."

Leo opened his mouth, then sighed. "I… I know it is… But it feels like I should be able to do more against what she did to me. I'm supposed to be the one that doesn't break. I'm supposed to be the one that has answers to this stupid shit. Instead, I'm the one who is going bat-shit crazy and hurting everyone!" He huffed breathlessly, eyes closing as tears streamed down his face slowly.

Raph ground his teeth as he tried to keep tears from streaming down his face. Damn, this was one thing Leo may never come back from.

Leo sniffed after a minute, burying his head in Raph's shoulder, as if hiding from something. "Leave me alone…" he whimpered quietly, but Raph heard it.

"Leo… Ya gotta let Don at least take a look at ya… If what yer talkin' to is what's makin' ya lose it, Don'll probably be able ta get rid'a it. Ya get me here?" Raphael asked gently.

Leo sniffed, and Raph saw him turning red on his shoulder. "But he can't though…!" Leo exclaimed, looking up back at his brother. "It's not gonna go away! Just like my memories aren't going to turn normal again, either!"

He then bit his lip and covered his mouth, as if having told a horrible secret. "I… I shouldn't have said that… I'm sorry…"

Raph's eyes were wide. No, that wasn't how it was supposed to work. Leo's memories should've been normal. Leo should be normal, other than his lack of voice.

"Leo?" a new voice asked, and Leo's eyes snapped open. He looked to the right, where Don was standing there.

Leo turned and glared at his red-banded brother, grinding his teeth. "You said you wouldn't get him! You promised!"

"I-I didn't!" Raph immediately defended. "It musta been Mike!"

Leo sneered at him. "Sure. Just like you promised when we were kids that you wouldn't hurt me. How'd that work out?" Anger was slowly seeping into his system, handing him memories he was sure were real. "All of our lives after that, you've hit me and humiliated me and embarrassed me to the brink of a breakdown over and over! And as soon as I think I'm safe, you go and do it again, twice as bad! So don't try and lie to me anymore! I'm done! Gone! Bye!"

With that last squeak, he ran away.

Don intercepted him, pulling him to his chest. His arms were locked around him, hands on Leo's plastron, hooked together to keep Leo from escaping. Leo, in his frenzied, angry state, couldn't break free, although he tried. "Lemme go…!" he whispered as loud as he could, his throat burning as he huffed unevenly.

"Shh… You're OK… Y'know, this is a special hug… It slows down your heart rate… Calms you a bit… Your breathing will calm down slowly, calming you more…" (lol I don't actually know if this is possible but BEAR WITH ME XD)

Leo whimpered lightly, struggling still, but he slowly started to weaken as his will left him. "S-Stop…" he whimpered, tears falling from his eyes slowly. "Lemme go…" he repeated, sniffing as he squirmed in Don's grip. Raph watched from a few feet away, almost mesmerized.

"Leo. Leo…" Don said slowly, until Leo stopped squirming. "Just breathe. Calm down and breathe. In. out. With me, OK? In and out."

Leo nodded slightly, his breathing calming as he wept silently. He was crying too much. He needed to stop. This wasn't how he was raised. He was raised to be a fearless ninja, not a sobbing paranoid mess.

Raph bit his lip, feeling guilty. "Who brought you?" he asked softly as Leo muttered to himself, obviously not with them at the moment.

"Mike told me to come, something about Leo talking to someone else that wasn't there. What did he mean?" Don looked quite concerned.

"Basically that. He was sayin' somethin' about somethin' not bein' him, about it bein' a side effect of dat drug," Raph explained, wincing slightly as Leo came to.

"It's not real!" the blue-clad turtle squeaked. "It's just my imagination…!" he wept.

* * *

 _Done! I'm sorry about that hug thing; I just needed Leo to run away but still stay. :D Please review! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	35. Panic

_:)_

* * *

Leo hesitantly let himself be persuaded to go back to the Lair, although he continued to squeak/talk quietly to this 'other person'. Raph was behind him, just in case, and Don was talking quietly into his Shell Cell.

"Just do a quick once-over. Yes, with that tool I showed you a while ago. You remember how to use it? Good," he said quietly into the phone, trailing behind them so that Leo wouldn't hear. He go berserkers if he found out that Splinter had started to worsen when he was out.

It hadn't really been noticeable at first, when he was calmed down and Splinter's heart rate was back to normal, he'd hardly noticed as blood slowly leaked out from under his father's robe until it was on the floor. Don had immediately opened his father's robe, not even blushing as he immediately started to soak up the blood on his stomach, thankful that nothing was internally bruised, and having to stitch it up before Mikey came back and told him to get Leo.

He was pretty sure that the cut had come from Splinter's own claws, as he knew that the rat had been holding his stomach inside his robe when Leo kicked him again. Nothing had happened to his hand other than a bruise.

The purple-clad turtle sighed, hanging up. "I'm gonna run ahead a little, check on Master Splinter," he said, stuttering once or twice.

Leo noticed and raised an eyeridge, taking out his notepad, which he'd decided to use again for now. 'Raph said he was fine tho'

"He is, I just wanna make sure…" Donatello said, turning down the tunnel towards the Lair in a jog.

Leo looked at Raph questioningly; the red-clad turtle shrugged. They continued their trek through the sewers.

* * *

Don raced into the lab, coming up to Mikey. "He good?" he asked as Mikey continued to clean the blood from Splinter's claws. Mikey nodded, putting the rag he'd been using to the side.

"Same as when you left, anyway," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

Don nodded in acknowledgement. "Leo… said that you guys said you wouldn't get me?" he then asked, looking at Mikey sternly.

Mikey stared right back. "Well, I'm sorry that I didn't want him alone with Raph and this other… thing he's seeing. Maybe that's what making Leo have these episodes."

Donnie frowned, thinking it over. "Maybe. But you can't just break a promise like that, Mikey. Leo's really fragile right now; any little thing could make him lose trust in all of us."

They heard a knock and immediately stopped talking, turning to the lab door in front of the cot, as if to hide the body on the cot.

Leo immediately ran towards the cot, stopping in front of his brothers. Even though he couldn't speak, the look in his eyes told them he'd beat them down if they didn't move, and the two younger turtles immediately sidestepped.

Leo bit his lip as he surveyed his father. He had a big cut on his chest, and there was a large bruise on his hand and his back, he guessed, judging on how hard he'd kicked him.

Tears gathered in his eyes, but he did not let them fall. He would not show any more weakness in front of his brothers. He needed to get over this. It'd been almost 2 weeks now since he got home. He wasn't supposed to be such a baby. He and his brothers had been captured by the Foot or Bishop or something like that dozens of times, and they'd all gotten a few psychological scars, but not this bad. He should be fine now. Donnie should've found a way to help him communicate and he should have all of his memories back and and and-

Leo's breathing started to get shorter and he put a shaky hand on his chest, backing away from his comatose father. Sweat poured down his face, some falling in his mouth, giving it a salty taste.

Donnie ran over immediately, grabbing Leo's free hand. He slowly led Leo to a cot without straps, and Leo followed submissively, eyes clouded in panic, other hand still on his plastron. Raph and Mikey slowly backed towards the door, not wanting to set Leo off again.

"Ssh… Breathe with me, Leo…" Donnie requested, and Leo slowly, hesitantly nodded, following Don's steady rhythm with little difficulty. "OK, just listen to me… You are OK. You don't have to stay here. There is nothing to be afraid of. No one is going to hurt you. You will be OK. Everything will be OK. You just can't hurt anyone. You have to just let it play out. You will be OK. Do you understand?" he asked gently, rubbing soothing circles on his brother's shell.

Leo blew out of his mouth, lucidness slowly returning to his mind. His breathing turned back to normal, and he looked at Don in embarrassment. "I'm sorry…" he squeaked sadly, "I should be better… I'll just… I'll just go…"

The blue-clad turtle, still shaking slightly, left the room. Raph and Mikey part, letting him go, unsure what else to do.

Don sighed, looking to their father, who was breathing heavily.

"Mikey, can you check on him? I need your help in here, Raph," the genius requested, looking at the red-clad turtle pointedly.

Raph nodded, pushing Mikey away. The stunned orange-clad turtle gulped and left; Raph shut the door and went to Don. "What is it, brainiac?"

"Raph, this is getting out of hand. Karai did worse to him than we thought. She took his voice, which he's obviously trying to get around; she ruined half of his childhood memories permanently; she put this… other personality in his head; she's making him lose control over himself and his body; and worst of all, half the time he can't even _remember what it is that he did unless he thinks harder about it," Don rambled, constantly checking this or that on Splinter's condition._

Raph blew out of his nose. "Well, what do we do about it? We can never get to him for more than a few minutes; then he loses it."

Don taped his chin, going around his lab. "I got the drug out of his bloodstream, but that didn't seem to change anything. Made it worse, quite possibly."

Raph sighed, shaking his head. "Well, Leo ain't too open about anythin' he'd know to help himself, if he does know anything. I can imagine why, but still; don't he wanna get better?"

* * *

Leo sighed, going into the dojo. He hadn't been here since he'd gotten home. He hadn't wanted to come in here since he'd gotten home.

 _-in a defensive position against Splinter, katanas out against his father's cane-_

 _-Raph called the fight._

 _Splinter lunged at Leo, cane ready to strike. Leo blocked it with his katanas-_

Leo clenched his eyes shut, trying to block out them memory.

- _cried out as it cut his face-_

 _-felt the sharp end of Splinter's cane knock him in the plastron, nearly drawing blood-_

Leo groaned lightly, hands on his head, fingernails digging into his skin as he tried desperately to block out the memory. "Stop… Stop… Please… I'm home, I'm with my family… They never hurt me… They're nice… They're caring…"

" _They let you get captured by the Foot and didn't come looking for you,_ " his doppelganger reminded him, appearing in front of him.

"I know they didn't come for me… It's because they didn't know where I was…" he whispered to himself, sighing lightly. "I think…" The blue-clad turtle thought for a second.

 _"They never said that…"_

"I know they didn't say that! I'm hoping that's why!" Leo squeaked.

Mike popped his head to the door, listening for his brother's raspy voice.

"I know they didn't come for me… It's because they didn't know where I was… I think…"

"I know they didn't say that! I'm hoping that's why!"

Mikey bit his lip sadly. "Leo…" he whispered, walking in hesitantly as Leo continued to argue with himself.

* * *

 _That took too long. :/ Sorry guys. Please review anyway! BYE! :D_

 _Shadow_


	36. Breakdown

_Got my dirty, oh God so dirty One-Shot up and posted! :D If you'd like, check it out!_

* * *

Leo glanced backwards at Mikey as the orange-clad turtle came up behind him, slowly putting his hands on the blue-clad turtle's shoulders to warn him of his presence. Leo relaxed a bit as Mikey slowly started to rub them, something they both knew would help him greatly right now.

Leo was soon on the floor, humming silently, sending vibrations through his plastron as Mike continued to massage his shoulders. No words were exchanged for a while as Leo's eyes started to cloud as he let himself go to Mike's calming, relaxing touch.

They both knew Leo was highly susceptible to falling into a trance-like state when Mike gave him these massages, but Leo was fine with it right now if it'd let him detach from reality for at least a while.

Mike smiled as Leo leaned backwards on his plastron, eyes glazed completely as he detached from reality. "Hey, Leo…" he said as softly as he could, just barely breaking though Leo's conscious.

The blue-clad turtle shifted his hand in response.

"What's really going on in your head?" Mikey asked gently, knowing Leo would respond honestly, if at all.

"Don't know… real memories… from fake… uncomfortable… with you guys… can't tell…"

Leo had a tear streaming down his blank face.

"I'm a jerk…" the blue-masked turtle sighed, putting his cheek on Mike's plastron sleepily, and Mike immediately wondered if he'd gotten enough sleep recently.

"Why don't you take a little nap, bro?" Mike suggested, and Leo blinked blearily, nodding obediently, humming softly, sending more relaxing vibrations through his plastron. His eyes were already drooping, and he was soon snoozing on Mikey's lap. The orange-clad turtle then realized the position he was stuck in, and straightened his legs a bit.

Leo shifted, but didn't wake.

* * *

Raph and Don were in the lab still as Don gave Raph Splinter's new diagnosis. The cut and bruise weren't that serious, but they needed to look out for infection.

"Ya think Karai has somethin' that can help him?" Raph asked.

Don scoffed, going to his computer. "Why would she make a cure? She wants Leo this way, obviously; she's had it out for him for months."

Raph sighed, looking at his father, who was breathing deeply. The rat looked so feeble, more so than usual, with his thin bones and frail appearance.

"...So how can we help him?" he finally asked his purple-favoring brother, who was going through different drugs, trying to see if they'd used any of the normal over-the-counter or even prescription drugs on Leo to make him this way.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Don muttered bitterly.

Raph bit his lip, obviously wanting to say something, but also not wanting to. Don glanced over at him and saw his hesitant expression. "What is it, Raph?"

Raph sighed, rubbing his head. "What if we can't help him?" he finally asked, feeling a weight being lifted off his chest.

Don blinked, his expression not changing. He then closed his eyes, putting a hand between his eyes to squeeze the bridge of his nose. "Can you… not say that?" he asked gently, his tone hiding something else.

Raph immediately put his hands out. "I meant that, maybe he has to fight this on his own!" he corrected himself, glancing at their father as he shifted, groaning.

"Master?" Don asked, scrambling over to see his father as he woke up. The grey rat's black eyes slowly opened, and a small groan pushed past his lips. "How are you feeling, father?" Don asked, going over his injuries again.

"I am… fine, Donatello," the rat assured, sitting up with his genius son's help. "Where is… Where is Leonardo?" he asked as he took the offered water bottle from the red-clad turtle's hand.

"Leo? He's, uh… in da dojo," Raph offered quietly. At Splinter's stern look, he knew to go get the blue-clad turtle. He scrambled out, going toward the dojo.

He stopped short as he saw the sight before him. Mike and Leo sat on the floor, leaning against a weapons rack, Leo sound asleep on the younger's plastron, and the orange-clad turtle obviously on the brink of sleep himself. Raph smiled lightly, leaving them.

"Leo's um, sleepin'," he announced as he got back to the lab.

Don looked at him questioningly, but the red-clad turtle just shrugged.

Splinter looked at him through narrowed eyes.

Raph looked back. "I ain't lyin' Masta," he said defiantly, because he wasn't.

Splinter nodded as he saw no lie in his son's eyes. "I am… sure that he is quite tired. When he awakens, you will immediately send him to me, Raphael," he requested/ordered. Raph nodded obediently, leaving and closing the door, heading back towards the dojo to see if Mike was out yet.

He snickered at the funnier scene; Mike was completely laid down with Leo on top of him, almost like a kitten.

He heard a whimper.

He looked closer at his elder brother, who he now realized had tears streaming down his face. He slowly walked over, grabbing the blue-clad turtle gently and pulling him off Mike, letting the mute teen cry silently in his sleep, the tears leaking onto his shoulder. "Leo…" the hothead said gently.

Leo whimpered silently into his shoulder, the noise nothing more than a silent whistle in his throat.

"Leo, c'mon. Yer havin' a nightmare; wake up," Raph tried again, a bit louder, but not wanting to wake Michelangelo.

Leo's eyes snapped open, and he turned to face Raph. He immediately scrambled away, his eyes not completely aware. He then ground his teeth, standing. His blank eyes somehow glared daggers into the hothead. "Why didn't you find me…?" he asked, the words squeaks from his abused throat.

"What?" Raph asked him, standing tentatively.

"I thought you would find me… I couldn't get out. The door was unlocked, and you didn't come…!" Leo ranted on, his smoker voice echoing through the room. It wasn't his voice; it was nothing. It was just sound, turning into words. Not his voice. He couldn't have his voice. It was gone. Don had taken it. No, it was Karai. He was so confused. Yet he still went on. "I had to go through 6 MONTHS of torture, and you guys were just sitting here! Lounging, figuring I'd find my own way home!"

Raph stared at him. "We didn't know where ya was!" he retorted, trying to get his brother out of his haze, reaching towards the panicked turtle.

Leo stepped away, and Raph found it remarkable what Mike could sleep through and how sound-proof the lab doors were.

"You-You knew! The door was unlocked, you could've just-just opened it! No guards! No lock! My weapons were right there! No chains!" Leo continued, tears streaming down his face and onto his chin and plastron, his mask soaked in his sadness. "Who else would've taken me!?"

"Purple Dragons? Bishop? Someone new! Government scientists, for all we knew! We couldn't just storm Foot Tower without bein' at least a little sure ya was dere!" Raph growled, anger seeping into his system.

Leo's eyes widened. They then narrowed. "Why didn't you look for me?!" he screamed hoarsely, sobs tearing at his throat as more tears streamed down his cheeks. "I've been good! I fought bad guys! I helped defeat Shredder!" More sobs, his eyes scrunching closed. "I saved you guys so many freaking times! But when I need your help, you guys lay on your lazy shells and think 'eh, he'll be fine. He always is!'" Coughs racked his body, his throat dry and aching from overexertion.

Raph tried to reach for his brother again, instinctively, but Leo pulled away once again. "Leo, c'mon, calm down, yer hurtin' yerself."

No, no, no, he couldn't calm down! His brothers hadn't come for him, and he had been trapped there when the freaking door was OPEN!

" ** _WHY DIDN'T YOU FIND ME?!_** " he screeched, sobs tearing further into his throat as Mike startled awake, and Leo dropped to his knees, hands covering his soaked face as he sobbed.

* * *

 _Done! Really emotional! Got sad just writing it! xD Plz review~! BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	37. After

_Hey, guys! Sorry for lateness._

* * *

Leo slowly awakened from the haze he was stuck in, and the first thing he realized was that he was surrounded by his family. The next thing he realized was that his throat had a searing pain in it. He cried out silently, grabbing at his throat.

"Easy, bro…" Mike soothed gently, rubbing circles on his brother's shells as Don opened Leo's mouth so he could inspect his throat, much to Leo's displeasure.

Leo forced his mouth shut, looking back down at the dojo rug, trying to remember how he'd gotten here and why he was crying.

"Leo. Leo, calm down. I just wanna see. I won't hurt you," a familiar voice said to him, and Leo realized it was Don's. Hesitantly, he opened his mouth, putting his head up as far as he could without it hurting too bad so Don could look.

Mikey was talking to Raph, telling him what Leo had said to him, as Don inspected Leo's throat thoroughly.

"Well, you'll be OK, but try not to say anything for at least 2 days. I'll get some honey and tea warmed up for you."

Leo nodded, sitting on the floor brokenly, racking his mind. He didn't remember anything after leaving the lab and sitting in the dojo. After that everything was fuzzy.

"Let's get ya ta the kitchen, yeah?" a gruff yet gentle voice asked, and he didn't fight, letting himself get pulled to his feet and walked to the kitchen by his immediate younger brother.

Leo was sat at the table as Don left, whispering something to Raph. Leo didn't like all these secrets, even if they were just trying to help him. But he let it go. There wasn't anything he could do about it, anyway.

Raph got up and grabbed the cup of tea Don had also prepared, putting the warm honey in it and giving it to his brother, sitting across from Leo. Leo drank the honey-filled tea slowly, wanting to crawl into his shell and hide.

"So, um…" Raph started, prompting Leo to look up at him. "Ya… rememba any'a dat…?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to set his brother off.

Leo shook his head hesitantly, taking another sip of his tea.

"I… Well, I guess I'm kinda glad…" Raph muttered into his hand, making Leo look at him with a bit more… emotion in his eyes.

' _Why_?' Leo mouthed to his brother.

Raph sighed. "Just… I dunno if what ya said was true… I hope ya don' feel dat way…"

Leo continued to look at his brother. What the shell was he talking about?

Noticing Leo's curious stare, Raph shook his head. "Nevamind… If ya rememba, just show me somehow…"

Leo nodded hesitantly, racking his brain for anything that had happened in the dojo.

" _I could tell you,_ " his doppelganger said from behind Raph, making Leo look up at it. He ground his teeth slightly..

 _'Why would you do that? So you can lie about it just like everything else you've told me?'_

The doppelganger shrugged. _"Your loss. You'd probably want to know. Nothing I can taint, really."_

Leo narrowed his eyes a bit, and Raph glanced at his brother, but said nothing.

 _'Will you… please… let me remember?'_ Leo thought hesitantly, and immediately everything came back to him.

 _"I thought you would find me… I couldn't get out. The door was unlocked, and you didn't come…!"_

 _"I had to go through 6 MONTHS of torture, and you guys were just sitting here! Lounging, figuring I'd find my own way home!"_

 _"We didn't know where ya was!"_

 _"You-You knew! The door was unlocked, you could've just-just opened it! No guards! No lock! My weapons were right there! No chains! Who else would've taken me!?"_

 _"Purple Dragons? Bishop? Someone new! Government scientists, for all we knew! We couldn't just storm Foot Tower without bein' at least a little sure ya was dere!"_

 _"Why didn't you look for me?! I've been good! I fought bad guys! I helped defeat Shredder! I saved you guys so many freaking times! But when I need your help, you guys lay on your lazy shells and think 'eh, he'll be fine. He always is!'"_

 _"Leo, c'mon, calm down, yer hurtin' yerself-"_

 ** _"WHY DIDN'T YOU FIND ME?!"_**

Leo's eyes went to the table in shame. He hadn't meant that. He hadn't really thought it. It was… It was it…

"I…" he started, only to grimace as his throat became irritated once again. Raph immediately grabbed the notepad Leo had dropped on the dojo floor and the pencil, but Leo shook his head. Some things couldn't be written on paper like that.

He waited to gather his willpower, and 100% ignoring anything Don had said, spoke again. "I didn't mean it…"

Raph glanced at the door to make sure Don wasn't there, then turned back to his elder brother. Leonardo was looking down at the table, obviously pondering something. "But…"

"Shh, ya shouldn't be talkin'," Raph reminded.

Leo sighed, taking another sip of his tea and grabbing the notepad and pencil. 'i didnt mean to say it' he scribbled.

Raph sighed, putting his head in his hands in frustration. "Alright. Not ya. Whateva's… in yer head."

Leo blew out of his nostrils, looking back at the table.

"Not in an insensitive way," Raph immediately corrected himself, mentally kicking himself. "Just… don't think we should just never acknowledge the fact."

Before Leo could think of an answer, don came in, a small smile on his face. "Uh, Leo? Do you think you can come to my lab for a few? I wanna get a better idea of what Karai did to your throat, if that's OK?"

Leo glanced at Raph, who nodded in silent encouragement, then back at Don. He stood up, following his brother towards the lab.

"You can sit down wherever…" Don muttered, glancing at Splinter's cot. Leo sat down a few cots away from his sleeping father, glancing at him then moving to the one next to him.

"OK, so, let's get this thing ready…" Don muttered as he fiddled with some buttons on his computer and another machine Leo didn't recognize.

Don looked at his silent brother, who glanced at the doorway as Raph leaned against it. "I have a machine that will be able to literally see inside your throat to see what Karai did."

At Leo's suddenly nervous expression, Don blinked. "Oh, it's not gonna go down your throat, it's just a scanner."

Leo sighed in relief.

"Alright, so if you would just look up as far as you can for me…" Don requested, bringing the scanner closer. "The picture will show up on my computer."

Leo nodded and looked up as far as he could without feeling pain, and Don put the scanner up to his throat. He then looked at the computer, and frowned; his brow furrowed in confusion. "That doesn't make sense…" he muttered to himself.

Leo tried to say something, but stopped, afraid he'd further damage his throat.

"Leo…" Don said, freezing the freeze-frame on his monitor and turning off the scanner. "The way everything is positioned, I think I can fix your voice to almost exactly the way it was."

* * *

 _YESH! PROGRESS! (FINALLY XD) Please review! ALSO, it's Leorai Week, and I have my first submission up on dA (here's the link:_ _fav. me/dcg29bk) Anyway, plz review~ Bye!_

 _Shadow_


	38. Fight, Catatonic, and Confusion

_Hey, guys! Sorry for lateness. Also, I'm leaving on Friday for my annual trip to see my grandparents, aunt, cousin, and maybe uncle? I'll be gone for two weeks, so now I have an excuse to be late with my fics. xD_

* * *

Leo blinked at his brother in surprise, unbelieving. The possibility of it being a lie set in and he ground his teeth.

"I'm not kidding, I promise!" Don exclaimed, hardly noticing his brother's seething anger as he went over the files again and went online. "It'd take no more than 2 hours to perform the surgery and put a replacement tongue in for you if I could get the right materials tonight!"

Leo bit his lip, trying to believe his brother. He grabbed his notepad. 'Promise?'

"Yep!" Don smiled cheerily. "What time is it? It's 8. It's dark. I'm gonna go ask Splinter if I can go get that stuff I need be right back!" Before Leo could blink, Don was gone, a few kicked up papers in his wake.

The blue-clad turtle glanced at Raph, who was currently leaning on the doorway. Raph looked at him solemnly. "Ya comin'?" he asked seriously.

Leo glanced at the floor, then Master Splinter, unconscious on the cot because of _him_ \- And then he abandoned that train of thought and looked back at Raph, shaking his head. He wasn't ready. Not yet. Maybe in a few days. Or longer.

"I'll tell Mike ta go wit' Don, okay?" Raph then asked the leaf-green turtle, who was still on the cot next to Splinter's. Leo nodded silently, looking at his father as the world slowly faded away from him, making his eyes unfocused and glazed. Raph didn't notice as he walked out to talk to Mike.

* * *

 _"You know he's lying, right?"_

Leo looked at his double, eyes narrowing as he found himself back in the cell. "No he isn't…" he growled, looking away. "He's my brother. He wouldn't do anything to hurt me. He promised…"

 _"That never meant anything in the past-"_

"Yes is DID! I just wouldn't know that because you've made it so I can't remember!" Leo yelled, snarling at the doppelganger.

The double smirked at him. _"Y'know, I know something."_

Leo blinked at the complete change of subject. "Um, what?"

'Leo' tsked, waving a finger at him. _"Now, now, what's the fun in telling? I let you know what I made you say as you slept because I was in a… good mood."_

Leo blinked again, then shook his head. "You can't have feelings, you're me."

 _"Tch."_

 _ **"Leo? Leo, bro, wake up!"**_

Leo's head snapped up, listening for the familiar voice.

 _"Ah, yes, you're all alone with the hothead; I almost forgot!"_ the doppelganger grinned madly. _"Can't waste this opportunity!"_

"Wha-?"

* * *

Leo glanced at Raph, eyes narrowing, making Raph take a step back. He couldn't deal with this right now, not with Splinter here.

Leo's lips opened in a sneer, eyes dead centered on Raph yet empty at the same time. Raph took another step back, then ran out of the lab and to the dojo as Leo lunged after him. If they were gonna do this, it wasn't about to be in the lab. Not where Splinter was, not where Don's experiments and data was.

Raph grabbed for his sais, then stopped and rethought as Leo entered the dojo with him. He grabbed Leo's swords off the wall, where they'd been put the night Leo had gotten back to them, and held them out.

Leonardo stopped in his tracks. He inspected the swords, as if expecting some kind of attack.

"Take 'em. If ya wanna do this so bad, let's do it right. Like old times," Raph suggested, taking out his sais as Leo took the katanas.

A smirk slowly crossed Leo's face, and he charged at Raph with the katanas. Raph defended, putting his sais out and listening to the satisfying clang of their weapons. Raph pushed against Leo, who still smirked at him.

Raph gasped as he was sent backwards by a kick to the plastron and landed on his shell, air knocked out of him. He quickly rolled out of the way as Leo's katanas came down where he had been a mere second ago.

"Leo, calm it down. We're just sparrin', remeba? We're helpin' ya calm down," Raph reminded him gently, yelping as Leo swung his swords at him again. Maybe this had been a bad idea.

* * *

"NO! You're gonna hurt him!" Leo yelled at his doppelganger, watching through his own eyes the scene before him yet not being able to do anything.

 _"That's kind of the point,"_ Leo's double reminded him with smirk.

"No!" Leo exclaimed. "I won't let you hurt anyone again!"

In a burst of strength, Leo threw himself at his look-alike, letting himself back in control of his own body.

* * *

Leo let out a throaty yelp as he was thrown into his body, and stopped his swords in their descent on the fallen Raphael, who had his arms shielding his face.

Leo threw the swords to the ground and knelt by Raph, who looked up at him in shock. "Sorry. I'm sorry, I-" Leo rasped, not noticing the pain in his throat.

"Shh. Shut up. Don't even say anything 'bout it," Raph said, sitting up and putting his arms up gently.

Leo immediately leaned into his embrace, tears trickling down his cheeks. "I-I'm sorry…" he said again.

"Don'tcha worry about it," Raph soothed, rubbing calming circles on his brother's shell. "Now let's just ferget about it and go get a snack and watch TV, yeah? Sound good?"

Leo nodded into Raph's shoulder, sniffling once before pulling away.

Raph stood up, helping Leo up. They headed to the kitchen, where Leo got a plate of crackers and cheese and Raph grabbed an apple. They both got bottles of water and went to the couch, where they sat down next to each other, Leo's knees to his plastron as he ate his crackers. Last time he'd watched TV with Raph like this he'd-

No. It wasn't real.

 _-Raph placed his sai at Leo's neck casually-_

Leo sighed, pinching his forehead. It never happened.

He ate another cracker with cheese on top.

Raph glanced at his brother, who leaned on him a bit, not really concentrating on the movie.

"Leo? Ya good?" he asked quietly, as to not startle his brother.

Leo nodded mutely. There wasn't much else he could do. He'd dropped his notepad somewhere around the Lair somewhere and didn't want to ask to get it back. There was still fear lingering in the back of his mind.

"Ya wanna change the movie?" Raph asked, wanting to let his big bro be happy, at least for a while. He hadn't really expressed any emotion other than sadness, anger, or confusion in a long time, longer than was probably healthy.

Leo shook his head. He wanted his notepad. He needed it to be able to communicate. At least until Don fixed his voice.

If he wasn't lying.

No, of course he wasn't lying. He was his brother. His kind brother, who would never hurt him on purpose.

Leo's eyes glazed over slowly as he slipped from reality, unable to fight himself.

He didn't know what happened during that time, but he was suddenly in a bed, shivering and unable to place anything. He looked to the side, and saw a large green figure laying next to him, staring at the ceiling. He let out a yelp, momentarily confused as to why nothing came out, and scrambled off the bed.

Raph looked over as Leo fell off the bed. What on Earth? He'd been catatonic 2 seconds before. And why had he fallen off the bed?

"Leo?" he asked quietly, startling the leaf-green turtle into looking at him.

Leo blinked, trying to form words but unable to without sending a searing pain to his throat.

The door opened, and Leo hopped back into the bed, covering himself with the blankets quickly, shaking in fear.

"Raph?" a gentle voice asked, a voice Leo recognized and registered as the enemy and forced him to shake more.

"It's fine, Don," a more gruff voice - the turtle next to him, Leo realized - assured.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. G'night, guys."

"Night."

Leo peeked under the covers, relieved to see the apparently hostile figure gone.

"Leo, c'mere," the gruff voice said, and Leo hesitantly, ever so hesitantly, settled back next to him.

He detached from reality again.

When he came back a few minutes later, he was angry.

"Why didn't you come for me?" he whispered, hitting Raph's plastron with what little strength he suddenly had.

"I know. 'M sorry, Leo," Raph said, letting his brother hit him.

"Why'd you let me leave? You should've let me stay home…"

"Yer right. I'd rather it've been me," Raph said, completely meaning it.

"No…" Leo sniffed, resting his head on Raph's plastron. "I don't want that for you… I wouldn't wish this on anyone… Even Karai herself..."

* * *

 _Well, at least you get a longer chapter before I go! 1540 words isn't that bad. :D Please review, feedback, flame, just not an 'update soon plz' review because those make me really freaking pissed. :/ BYE!_

 _Shadow_


	39. Chapter 39

_Hey, guys! Sorry for lateness. Right now I'm working on 13 Halloween prompts that I'm trying to have don before the 19th of October, so updates will still be a little slow. But with Frozen adopted, and Hamato or Oroku? on pause for a bit, they'll hopefully be a bit faster, if I stop getting so distracted. ^^;_

* * *

Leo woke up in his bed, and looked around in confusion. Raph was dozing next to him. What had happened? Weren't they on the couch?

Ever so slowly, he took off his covers and got off the bed, wincing as it creaked. He looked at Raph, but the brawler turtle didn't wake. He grabbed his mask, which had been placed on the floor, and walked out of the room.

Sitting on the couch, he grabbed a blanket and draped it on himself, just sitting there for a good 20 minutes.

"Good morning, my son," a familiar voice piped from behind him, making him jump about a foot in the air.

Leo looked back and saw Splinter there, leaning on his cane and smiling warmly at him.

 _Don'ttrusthimdon'ttrusthimdon't-_

 _'NOTHING WILL HAPPEN; YOU'RE A LIAR!'_

Leo bowed respectfully, moving over to make room for his father. Splinter dat, offering Leonardo a cup of tea.

Leo eyed the tea, eyes narrowing for a second before he took it. He sipped at it, then relaxed a little bit. It tasted just as he remembered, and soothed his throat.

"Thank you," he whispered as Splinter turned on the TV, putting on his soaps.

* * *

Leo closed his eyes, trying to block out the darkness. It wasn't real, it wasn't real. It was just Karai messing with his head.

Even though she wasn't here anymore.

 _"Tsk, tsk, tsk,"_ his doppelganger smirked from behind him as Leo dropped to his knees, hands over his ear slits and eyes scrunched closed. _"You shouldn't be trusting him~"_

"He's my father!" Leo retorted, pressing his head tighter.

 _"He tried to kill you."_

"NO HE DIDN'T! GAH!"

* * *

Leo broke out of his catatonic state, and saw Splinter still on the couch with him, watching his soaps. Leo checked the time on the cable box and saw he'd only been catatonic for 5 minutes at most. He was shaking, though, and his heart was beating a mile a minute.

"Are you alright, Leonardo?" Splinter suddenly asked. Leo nodded. He stood up, walking towards the kitchen.

"Hi, Leo," a new voice piped up, scaring Leo out of his shell. He turned and saw Don standing there, and waved shyly.

"So, I think I may have found a way to fix your voice today, almost exactly the way it was. It'll take a few more days to make it perfectly healed, though," Don explained, noticing Leo visibly brighten a bit. "You want breakfast? You should probably eat before I put you under for the operation."

Leo grew rigid, paling noticeably. Don realized what he'd said and immediately winced. That was probably the last thing Leo wanted. "I'm really sorry, but you're gonna need to get put under for this operation, Leo. It'll be too painful."

Leo started shaking, looked around for something, anything, to ground him, to keep him from panicking. He didn't need that. It was too early.

"We'll think about this later, Leo, OK?" Don soothed, grabbing his elder brother's arm gently. Leo nodded shakily.

* * *

Leo walked into the dojo, sitting down against a wall with his swords in one hand and a cleaning kit in the other. He slowly took out the cleaning rag and dabbed a little cleaning stuff on it, then started cleaning the blade of his sword.

As he did so, his thoughts started to wander. What if he could get his voice back? It'd be great to be able to verbally communicate with his brothers without the searing pain in his throat, or have to use the notepad. And soon enough, he'd be brave enough to go on patrol, and he'd hopefully be back to normal.

 _Don't be so sure._

Leo sighed, ignoring it. He wasn't dealing with that right now.

 _Oh, haven't you learned what happens when you ignore me~?_

Leo grit his teeth, rubbing his sword a little faster.

 _'Please, just leave me alone…'_

 _Never~!_

Leo switched to the other sword, cleaning the dried blood on them from the fight on the rooftop when he'd… escaped…

He'd done that himself… He was capable.

Leo finished cleaning his katanas and set them next to him on the floor, putting away his cleaning kit. He stood up, leaving the swords there and putting the cleaning kit back in its cabinet.

He slowly walked out of the dojo, going to his room, instead. He sat on his bed with the door closed and took out his sketchbook, blocking out the voice in his head. He needed this. He needed some kind of outlet.

No one would see it. Ever. He wouldn't let them.

* * *

Don was setting up his lab for the operation, his thoughts wandering as he went on. This better work. If it didn't, then what? He could damage Leo further. Leo probably had memories of him torturing him still. He knew the cure hadn't gotten rid of those.

He sighed, disinfecting the table Leo would be on again.

What if Leo got sick? What if he couldn't make him better? What if Leo died?

He shook his head, banishing the thoughts. It wouldn't happen. He wouldn't let it. No matter what.

* * *

 _Sorry for short chapter, but I needed to post it at some point. Also, I'm working on Halloween Prompts (I already told you that, but a reminder) so updates will still be a little slow. But after October is over, I should be good! Little faster, at least! Review, please!_

 _Shadow_


	40. Operation

_Heyy!_

* * *

Leo stood from his bed, putting his sketchbook back under his bed as he walked out of his room, towards the lab.

"Hey, Leo," Don said absentmindedly, putting a sheet on the operating table and taking his tools out of the boiling water (to disinfect them).

Leo made a small sound in the back of his throat in greeting, sitting in Donnie's lab chair backwards and spinning a few times. Don chuckled to himself. "Usually it's Mikey who's doing that," he observed, putting his tools where they were supposed to go. "I… think that's it. Everything's ready for the surgery. I just need you to let me."

Leo spun around again, thinking it over again briefly. He'd be able to talk. His doppelganger couldn't hold that over his head. He could lead. He could become normal again.

 _"They don't need you to lead…"_

Leo flinched, looking towards his doppelganger, who was next to Donnie, who obviously didn't notice.

 _"You're just a failure to them. You can't even beat a couple Foot Ninja. The purple one had to save you from that."_

Leo held that thought. Donnie had saved him. He was trustworthy.

The blue-clad turtle nodded. He would do it.

Don smiled. "That's great! I'll tell the others, and you can just lay on the table. I'll be right back."

Leo nodded, doing as Don said as the genius left.

This was really happening. He'd be able to speak again. He'd be able to communicate.

 _"You'll be able to annoy them with your stupid orders again."_

 _'Stop! I'm not gonna listen to you! You're just a part of my mind! I'll get rid of you somehow!'_

Before his doppelganger could retort, Don came back in, locking the door behind him and running to his anesthesia supply. "Alright, Leo. I need you to relax so I can administer the needle to a vein so I can put you under," Don requested, holding the needle.

Leo gulped, tensing a bit, before relaxing and nodding. Don smiled gratefully, putting the needle into his brother's vein and administering the anesthesia.

Leo lay there, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the anesthesia to kick in. He fought the anger building up inside of him. It wasn't his. It wanted to control him. He didn't want to be controlled.

His eyelids were getting heavier by the second, but the voice pestered him all the way into his drug-induced sleep.

Don sighed in relief as his brother drifted away, and grabbed his tools, remembering all the studying he'd done for this.

Slowly, carefully, he made the first cut.

* * *

Leo groaned, looking around in the darkness for his doppelganger. "This is getting old, you know," he called out.

 _"Then let's make it a little more interesting?"_

Leo was still looking around for the source of the voice. "Where are you?!" he demanded.

 _"You needn't know that, little turtle. Now, let's see what we can do to bring you to another breakdown…"_

Leo's eyes **widened** as the sentence sank in. "Wh-What?"

* * *

 _Leo was back in his cell. There was something different, though._

 _"Guys?! Why are you here?!" he demanded, running over to their chained, prone forms, completely forgetting this was a hallucination immediately._

 _"We was tryin' ta save ya," Raph muttered angrily, his eyes hidden from Leo's sight._

 _"Then the Foot got to us," Don said, he also not looking at Leo._

 _"And ya know what they said?" Mikey asked._

 _"Wh-What?" Leo asked shakily. He didn't want to know. Had his doppelganger told them somehow?_

 _"They said that you told them we were comin'," Raph growled, looking at his brother with malice in his red eyes._

 _Leo stepped back a bit, hand over his mouth. No, that wasn't true, he wouldn't! He didn't break. He never broke. He couldn't have told them. How would he even know?_

 _"N-No… I didn't… Guys, please…" Leo wept, tears streaming down his face. Jeezus, he was dead. He was dead, there was no other explanation._

 _"No!" he yelled, covering his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks still. "I didn't! I swear to God I didn't!"_

 _"Hmm…" a new voice hummed from the opening cell door._

 _Leo immediately stood, in a defensive position, although sinking back a little when he saw their captor standing there._

 _"I do distinctly remember you telling me that they would come for you. You contacted the rat and told me their whereabouts," Karai lied smoothly through her teeth._

 _Leo growled lowly, fists clenching. He leapt at her with a yell._

 _"Oh, yes, I'm sure that made you angry. Telling them the cold hard truth. That you **betrayed** your oh-so **precious** brothers," Karai smirked, dodging Leo's sloppy anger-filled attacks._

 _Leo growled, anger taking over his being ad making his eyes blank, leaving and yet seeing what was happening at the same time._

 _Slowly, he looked around, as if placing himself. He then looked at Karai, with angry eyes, ready to attack again._

 _"Bow, Leonardo," she said before he could._

 _From wherever he was, Leo's eyes widened, but then he bowed to her, head hanging down in respect._

 _"No!" Leo cried from wherever he was. "No, this is fake! It's just the voice!"_

 _"Oh, but Leonardo…" Karai smirked, looking him right in the eye as she raised a katana to his brothers. "It's already happened."_

 _Just as she swung, Leo woke._

* * *

"NO!" Leo screamed silently, sitting up on the operating table, only to grab at his throat in pain. Tears streamed down his face as he felt hands on his shell and plastron, gently pushing him back down.

"Hey, Leo. It's okay. You're fine. You're in the lab, but you can't talk. Okay?" a familiar gentle voice asked.

Leo nodded silently, only to gasp in pain once again.

"Oh, and, like… Don't move your head too much," Don requested sheepishly.

Leo stared up at the ceiling, tears spilling onto the table he lay on. It was fake. It never happened. He was just dreaming.

Right?

Of course! There was no other explanation! It was just that voice, torturing him, just like it'd said it'd do.

Then…

Why did it feel so real?

* * *

 _Alright, finally, a normal-length chapter! (for me, anyway XD DX) Please review, tell me what you think!_

 _Shadow_


	41. Flashback

_Heyy!_

* * *

Leo was trying not to breathe heavy as he lay on the operation table, tears streaming silently down his face as he gasped and made throaty whines, despite Don's protests.

"Leo, please, your voice won't heal right if you don't stop," Don told him again gently, and Leo tried to stop.

 _"You know it'll happen. One day, you'll snap. You'll give all control to me, and your family will pay for it. And you know you want it. You want the pain to go away. You want me to go away. Or maybe, in your selfish little mind, you want to go away,_ " his doppelganger smirked at him, standing over him. Leo could almost feel it, feel its breath as it taunted him. But he knew it wasn't true. It was just his imagination, torturing him.

Don was continually glancing at him, as if he knew Leo was experiencing this. He was obviously worried. Leo tried to smile at him reassuringly, but he couldn't smile. He couldn't force himself.

Raph came into the lab a few hours later. He looked at Leo, tears now wiped away from his face but riddling the cot still. "Hey, bro," he said quietly, pulling up on Don's rolly chair, as Don was in his normal chair for not wanting to wobble.

Leo managed a weak smile.

 _"He doesn't want you to respond. You know that, right? He's gonna say something about how annoying you're gonna be again when your voice heals. He's just doing it now so you can't say anything back."_

Raph sighed as Leo sniffed, tears starting to leak from his eyes once again. He didn't have his mask on, a safety Don had enforced almost as soon as he'd made the first cut. His eyes were red and swollen, and slightly fogged, as if he were there, but not at the same time.

"Ya dere, bro?" Raph asked gently, earning a quick glance from Don.

Leo made a weak thumbs-up. He couldn't nod, and he couldn't make an affirming noise. He couldn't do _anything_.

 _"That's right. You're just a pathetic little turtle who can't even respond to his brother. Too weak to say a word."_

Leo sniffed again.

Raph lay a warm hand on Leo's arm, and Leo's eyes turned to him, confused. Carefully, he shifted so he was on his side, facing Raph.

"Yer gonna get through this, Leo. OK? I promise you will. We'll all be here for you," Raph promised him, and Leo's eyes went downcast.

 _"Lies! It's all lies! He's just trying to make you comfortable! Donatello probably didn't even do anything other than cut you up more permanently! Good luck ever talking again!"_ his doppelganger continued to taunt him, and Leo leaned towards Raph a little for comfort. It was lying. It was all lies. They were helping him. They wouldn't hurt him.

And he wouldn't hurt them.

Raph awkwardly wrapped his arms around his brother. He glanced at Don, who was watching the exchange carefully.

"How long do ya think it'll be until he can talk, Don?" Raph asked after about a minute, but didn't release Leo, who was now practically laying on him.

"Mmm, I'd say a little less than a week. If he doesn't make any sort of noises at all, I'd say 3 or 4 days at the least," Don explained after a minute.

Raph nodded, looking at Leo, who glanced at him. "Y'hear dat? Only a couple'a days. Then ya can talk ta us again. That sound good?" he asked his brother, his voice gentle and kind.

Leo gave another thumbs-up. His heart wasn't really in it, though.

"How long till he can move his head?" Raph asked.

"Probably tomorrow or the day after, if he's careful," Don answered automatically.

Leo smiled a bit at this.

"That mean he can come outta the lab then?" Raph then inquired.

Don nodded again.

Leo's smile shrank a bit. He didn't want to see anyone. He was already ashamed Raph was seeing him like this. What if he slipped up and told someone more than he needed to?

Well, it was better than Don feeling sorry for him the entire time as he lay here, silent and…

 _"Completely vulnerable so he can do more experiments!"_

Leo closed his eyes, grumbling. He stopped when he felt the slight nudge Raph gave him, and snuggled in closer to his brother with a small pout on his face.

Raph patted him silently. He glanced at the clock. It was 9 PM.

"Hey, why don'cha get some sleep?" the hothead suggested to his elder brother.

Leo glanced at the clock, as well. He sighed, giving a slight nod despite the pain in his throat, but didn't let go of Raph.

Raph blew out his nostrils, a small smile forming on his face. "Ya want me ta stay wit' ya?" he asked gently.

Leo gave another nod.

"I'll get you guys a blanket," Don offered, standing and leaving.

Leo smiled a bit. "Don't…" he started, but Raph shushed him.

"Don said no talkin', Leo…" he soothed.

Leo sighed heavily.

 _'Don't let it get to me, Raphie…'_ he'd wanted to say.

* * *

It was dark. He was starting to hate that. He was alone, it seemed for the time being.

"Don't do anything to me. Please. Give me one night," he begged.

The voice chuckled, echoing around him. _"And why should I?"_

"You… You've already tortured me enough…" Leo sighed, unable to come up with anything. It didn't matter what he said; nothing that he did mattered.

 _"You're pathetic. A couple months in that cell and you're a shell of your old self. Not that you were that great in the first place. No wonder you were so surprised when Splinter picked you as leader. You didn't think you deserved it."_

"I wasn't-"

The memory was immediately warped, and he groaned, grabbing his head. "No! You're lying! I… I was…!"

He stopped, the memory completely overtaking him.

* * *

 _Leo gasped as he found himself in the dojo again, watching his 8-year-old self and his brothers, Splinter in front of them._

 _"My sons. It has come the time for me to assign you a leader," Splinter announced to his kneeling sons._

 _They all whispered amongst each other for a second, then quieted._

 _"Leonardo," Splinter said._

 _Leo's eyes widened, and he looked at his father and teacher, then at the floor. He didn't deserve to be leader. He'd had a want for it, somewhere inside of him, but he knew he wasn't worthy of this._

'Don't choose me…' _he thought._

 _"Rise, Leonardo," Master Splinter ordered, and Leo gulped, doing so without looking up._

 _"You have shown several qualities of a leader in your childhood. You are brave, kind, and show that you can do the quick thinking to give orders in a tight situation," Splinter said._

 _Leo blinked. This was the first sort of real praise he'd received from Splinter in years. He'd probably scrounged for these lies for weeks._

 _Raph nudged Don. "And bein' bossy," he whispered, earning a giggle from his younger brothers._

 _Splinter cleared his throat, and they knelt at attention once again._

 _"Therefore, based on these qualities, I am assigning you, Hamato Yoshi Leonardo, leader of your team," Master Splinter announced._

 _Leo's breath hitched, but he knelt as Splinter took out his katana from its sheath. Then, as if knighting him, he put the word gently on one shoulder, and then the other._

 _Leo couldn't breathe. There was no way this could be happening. He didn't deserve this; he'd lead his brothers to disaster one day._

 _"I… th-thank you, Master Splinter," he said, obligatorily._

 _"You are all excused from training today. You are dismissed."_

 _The turtles walked out, and Leo stood up, ready to go to his room-_

 _"Leonardo, may I speak with you for a moment?"_

 _Leo looked over from the door, sighing with a nod. He walked over to his father, kneeling once again._

 _"Know this, Leonardo. The only reason that you are leader is because Raphael is too angry, Donatello is too far in the clouds, and Michelangelo is…"_

 _Leo didn't finish the sentence, not that it needed to be finished. He understood._

 _"You are not better than any of your brothers by any means. You will not think that you are better. You are barely qualified as is."_

 _Leo nodded. He'd known this was coming. "Yes, Master Splinter."_

 _"Dismissed."_

 _Leo stood, leaving quickly. He walked to his room, ignoring his brothers' sneers and jibes as he closed the door, locking it. He went to his bed and lay down face-down._

 _He was going to mess up. He was going to get someone hurt, or worse. He was going to disappoint his father, and get disowned, or, or…_

 _He groaned, tears welling up in his eyes._

* * *

Leo awakened with a gasp, and he tried to push the sudden memory away. It hadn't happened. It was a lie.

He sighed, looking at the computer in the lab, where Don lay in front of it, asleep.

Leo shook his head. He stood up, making sure not to move his neck as he grabbed a spare blanket from the cot next to him. He took it over to his genius brother, draping it over him with a small smile. He turned off the monitor, making the only source of light in the lab the kitchen light, which came in from the door.

He sighed again, walking back to his cot. He closed his eyes, sleep finding him quickly.

* * *

 _Done! Finally! Please review!_

 _Shadow_


	42. New Chapter! Woot!

_Heyy! I'm super super sorry about how slow these updates are, I've been getting distracted. Also, when I say that Leo's voice sounded deeper, just think of like how he sounded in season 4 and kinda like combined with a smoker voice? XD_

* * *

Leo woke up 4 days later with a start. He was being shaken. In blind self-defense, his fist shot out, and he immediately gasped.

"Don!" he whispered, sitting up and getting off the bed, helping his brother up.

Don chuckled. "This place has made you a little stir-crazy, huh?" he asked, rubbing his shoulder. "Be my wall?"

Leo nodded, steeling himself, and Donnie knocked his shoulder onto him, relocating it. Leo smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," he whispered.

"No, you're fine. Really," Don assured him. "Self-defense is a necessity, especially for us," he chuckled.

Leo's smile grew a bit.

"Anyway," Don continued, coughing once to cover another laugh, "I think you're ready to start talking, semi-normally, anway. Just let me check something…"

Leo held still as Donnie inspected his throat, with that weird device thingy Leo finally wasn't afraid of anymore, finally.

"Alright, can you just try to say something for me in your normal voice?" Don requested.

Leo cleared his throat, and then opened his mouth. "S-Something," he said, his voice a little deeper than it had been before it had been taken from him.

Donnie chuckled. "I thought Mikey would be most likely to do that."

Leo cracked a smile. "So, I-I can leave now?" he asked. Even though he'd been able to leave a day or two before, he hadn't taken the opportunity, and Don hadn't mentioned it.

"Yeah, of course. Just try not to scream or yell for the rest of today, and I think you'll be good," Don suggested, and Leo nodded.

"Thanks, Don," he said, a genuine smile on his face as he walked out.

He knew it wasn't going to be like before; his makeshift tongue had just been sewn in and heaven knew what would happen with that. It felt weird in his mouth, although Donnie had said that it felt almost exactly as a normal tongue would.

Maybe he just wasn't used to it anymore…

He walked into the kitchen, grabbing a juice box and sitting down, sucking at it, lost in thought. Did this mean he would try to go above? Were the Foot still looking for him?

 _Wow. One little thing. You get one little thing given back to you and you go crazy with ideas._

Leo sighed. Of course, the voice apparently wasn't going away any time soon.

He glanced at the clock; it was only 7 AM. Only Don was up, and maybe Master Splinter. It was Sunday, which meant no training. He would have actually been able to go today.

 _'I'll go tomorrow,'_ he thought to himself; maybe he'd even go on patrol tonight, if there would be any.

He finished his juice box and walked out, to the dojo. His swords were on the wall, where they'd been left after he cleaned them the other day. He picked them up, weighing them experimentally in each hand. It'd been a while since he could voluntarily wield these. His fight with Raph didn't count, nor did when he was fighting the Foot when he escaped Karai's clutches.

 _"Hm…"_ his doppelganger said, appearing next to him, startling him. _"Imagine all the **pain** you could cause with that…"_

"Stop…" he whispered to himself, looking at his reflection in the sword in his hands.

His doppelganger grabbed his wrist, and he gasped. No. There was no way it could do that. It… It wasn't real. It wasn't tangible. He shouldn't be able to see it, let alone let it touch him. He looked at it with wide, confused eyes, and it turned his sword, making the tip point towards him.

"S-Stop!" he commanded weakly, backing away. "Stop!"

 _"Maybe if you don't want to cause your brothers pain… I'll just make **you** feel pain."_

Sweat started to drip on Leo's forehead as he was pushed up against the wall. "Stop!" he moaned again hoarsely, hoping somewhere in his mind someone would appear. He didn't care if they thought he was crazy. He needed help.

"My son!"

The pressure on his arm immediately alleviated and he fell to the side as his doppelganger disappeared, breathing heavily and coughing. Splinter ran over, helping his damaged son up. "Leonardo, are you okay?"

"I'm…" Leo sat up, leaving his sword on the floor. "I'm fine, Master…"

"What happened?" the ninja master asked, but Leo just shook his head.

"It's… It's nothing. Just my imagination," he lied.

Splinter's eyes narrowed. "My son, I know that you wish to deal with this yourself, and I understand this. However, not everything calls for these measures. Your family wishes to help you."

 _"Don't listen to him!_ " Leo kept himself from jumping as his doppelganger reappeared. _"He's lying! He just wants you to trust him!"_

 _'Stop!'_ Leo thought. "I… I know, Master. I just… I don't want them to see this part of me…"

Splinter sighed, putting a hand on his son's shoulder, trying not to notice the slight flinch. "Let me tell you a story, my son," he requested.

Leo sighed. "Master, I really don't-"

Splinter nailed him with a glare and he sat down immediately, cross-legged, just as he always had done as a proud student of his Master.

"A long time ago, there was a young ninja, in Japan. He had three friends, whom he would protect with his very life," Splinter started, and Leo listened stoically, ignoring his doppelganger yelling at him. "If they were sick, he was there. If they needed help to carry something, he was there. If their lives were in danger, he was there, no matter what. He never let them down.

"However, there were times when he needed help too, naturally. But if any of his three friends offered to give this needed help, he would refuse. He did not want to burden them."

Leo let his hands be held behind his back, tried not to listen to the voice whispering in his ear, not wanting to interrupt Splinter. He wouldn't lose control today. Not now.

"There was one time where he was in battle with a samurai from far away, sent to assassinate his master. He had been sick recently, and was very sluggish. He tried to defeat the samurai, to no avail."

Leo leaned away from his doppelganger subtly, trying not to listen to the lies it told him, how he should hurt his Master, how he should leave.

"And as the samurai, who had done surveillance on the ninja's master and him, was about to swing his final blow with his sword on the young ninja, he asked, 'Where are your friends? Why have they not come to help you?'"

Leo tried to have his doppelganger release him, but to no avail.

"The ninja said to the samurai, through bloody lips and cracked teeth, 'I do not need them. They do not need to help me. If they help me, they could perish.'

"The young ninja died that day, as did his master. When his friends heard of the tragedy, they were in despair. If they had known of their friend's predicament, they would have helped in an instant. They were definitely skilled enough. They deeply wished they could have helped their friend, but his selflessness had cost him his life."

Leo pondered over the story, squinting. "So… You're basically saying I'm gonna die if I don't let you guys help me?"

Splinter chuckled, and Leo cracked a smile. "No, my son. I a saying that your selflessness could very well harm you or even your brothers."

Leo nodded, his finger twitching as he tried to release himself. "Thank you, Sensei."

Splinter nodded, standing. "Of course, my son."

"I'm going to try and train some more, if that's okay, Master," Leo requested, and Splinter nodded as he walked out.

When he was sure Splinter was out of earshot, he started struggling. "Let me go!" he demanded.

 _"You think you can command me?"_ it whispered through clenched teeth into his ear slit. _"You think you can demand things of me? I can kill **you** and **your family** in a **second**. I can make **you** kill your family. I've come close before, and you know it. Why would you want them around anyway?"_

"Stop…" Leo whispered, eyes clenched shut.

 _"They've never done anything for you. All they've ever done is hurt you."_

"You're wrong…" Leo tried, but the voice only grew stronger.

 _"You should've ended them long ago. You don't need them. You'd actually rather be at Karai's!"_

"No!" Leo said, trying not to raise his voice, lest he damage it and/or wake someone up. "Let me go!"

 _"Fine~"_

Darkness encased Leo.

* * *

 _I think that was the fastest I've typed a chapter in a while! And by that I mean I started typing it a few days ago lmao_

 _ANYWAY XD_

 _Please review! I'm sorry I've been so slow but I'm really trying to do better! :D_

 _Shadow_


	43. Healing? Regressing?

_Heyy! I'm super super sorry about how slow these updates are, I've been getting distracted. Again. They may be normal now tho? Cuz I don't have anything to do ATM. Other than... LGBTTMNT Week, but that ends in 2 weeks so I should be good after that. I'll be iffy during the summer because I have some programs and trips, but I'll try to get some updates in, and a somewhat normal schedule, for those few months, anyway._

* * *

When Leo woke up, he was still in the dojo. Confusion immediately took hold of him as he tried to place something, _anything_. He couldn't _remember_.

Where was he? Who was he? Was he in danger? Was someone going to hurt him? Why was he here?

"Leo?" a familiar, yet unfamiliar, voice asked. He heard footsteps coming his direction and he started shaking. He was scared. He didn't want to get hurt. This person could hurt him.

"Leo, c'mon. Let's get ya something to eat," a gruff voice said.

Wait. Leo knew that voice. He squinted a bit, trying to place it. It was… His brother?

 _Traitor. Not brother._

Not brother?

But… it _was_ his brother.

"Leo?" Raph asked, leaning down in front of his brother. "You good?"

Leo was suddenly back. He blinked, and then nodded at his brother. "Yeah, I'm… I'm fine." He shook his head, clearing it. That was the second time that had happened, he was pretty sure.

"Let's go get ya some breakfast, then, if yer okay," Raph offered, helping his brother stand. Leo took the help thankfully, and they walked to the kitchen.

Raph started going through the fridge. "Anything in specific ya want, bro?" he asked, looking up.

Leo shrugged. He wasn't really hungry. "I'll have whatever you're having, I guess," he said noncommittally.

Raph blew out of his nose. "Alright, then," he said, grabbing the egg carton. "Eggs good?"

Leo nodded. "Sounds good."

 _"Leave. Go out. Don't let him feed you. He'll poison it-"_

 _'Honestly, this is getting old!'_ Leo thought, looking over at his doppelganger from the corner of his eye. _'It's always the same thing! Leave, hurt them, leave, hurt them, leave- You're… You're not getting to me anymore!'_

The doppelganger barked a laugh at him, sneering. _"If you want me to do more, I can! All it takes is a snap on my part, a slip of control on yours… Oh, the possibilities!"_

Leo cringed as his doppelganger leaned on the table, getting in his face with that twisted smirk perverting his face. He could almost feel its breath on his face, and he leaned away a bit.

"Leo?" Raph asked, and Leo turned his attention back to him.

"Yeah?" he asked, trying his best to look natural.

"How ya want yer eggs?" his younger brother asked him, obviously not seeing through his act.

"Um, scrambled is fine," Leo said hastily.

Raph looked at him scrutinizingly. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked his brother.

"I'm… fine!" Leo lied, almost falling out of his chair from leaning back so far.

"But… are you?" Raph asked, squinting disbelievingly.

Leo's chair fell backwards, and the true horror that crossed his face was similar to anyone's that could be in the same situation.

"Leo!" Raph yelped, running over to his brother. "What the-?"

"Nothing! Nothing, nothing, nothing…" Leo muttered, laying there and staring at the ceiling. Awareness faded and came back every few seconds. It felt… good.

"C'mon, Leo, let's getcha up…" Raph mumbled, but Leo didn't move. His eyes were hazy, almost fluttering open and closed.

"Don't… Don't wann'..." Leo mumbled, eyes rolling to the back of his head and then back, as if he were losing a battle to stay conscious.

"Leo, quit playin'..." Raph muttered, sitting his brother up. The elder's head sort of just… rolled on his shoulder.

"'M… 'M fine…" Leo mumbled, lips barely moving.

"No, yer not! We gotta getcha ta Don-"

"Mmmm- no!" Leo mumbled, eyes cracking open a little. "Jus'... tired… fight'n…"

"You'll be fine Leo…" Raph was looking around anxiously. He didn't know how to deal with this. He didn't know if Leo was okay. He didn't… _know_ …

"Just… Le's stay here…" Leo mumbled. "M'kay…?"

"Yea, dat's… dat's okay…" Raph said, laying against a table leg. Anxiety had a hold on him; he wasn't sure if his brother needed to be checked, or if he was about to have some kind of attack, or if that… thing, that whatever thing that had been bothering Leo in his mind was doing this to him…

"I wann'... stay awake, Raphie…" Leo's eyes opened a little more. "Talk to me…"

"M'kay…" Raph muttered, looking around again. His brother still lay on top of him, both of their legs stretched out in front of them. Leo was a little lighter than he remembered, even if he had been given that one meal a day.

Every day…

"Hey, why d'ya think that they gave you a nice mean every day?" he pondered out loud.

"She said… she din't want me ta die…" Leo's voice was getting a little louder, but he still leaned heavily on Raph. "So she could… keep doing what she was doing… to me…" he breathed.

"And ya didn't think that maybe she was putting that drug in da food?" Raph prompted.

"I always… checked… Never smelled… weird…" Leo looked up at him.

"Maybe… it was… scentless," Raph said slowly. "And… tasteless."

Leo squinted in thought, and then his eyes started to open a little wider. "Shit," he muttered. He was so _stupid_.

"It's okay; it don't matter now anyway…" Raph assured him, stroking his arm absently.

"I guess…" Leo muttered. "I wish I'd… known, though…"

"It's fine… Drug's outta ya…" Raph was getting rather tired himself, despite having just woken up. He hadn't been sleeping good; frankly, none of them had.

Leo's eyes slowly started to drift close again, and Raph tried to think of something else to say. "Hey," he said as an idea came to mind, "you think yer gonna be able ta come on patrol with us tonight? Don said you're completely physically able."

Leo's eyes opened again and he looked at his brother. "I…" Did he want to go? What if the Foot were out? What if they got him again, or his brothers? He didn't want to go back… He couldn't take it…

But… he couldn't live in that kind of fear forever. He couldn't just _never_ go above ground again. That would be ridiculous. Was he ready yet, though? Any time he'd voluntarily gone above ground in the past 6 or 7 months had ended badly. Hell, even leaving the Lair caused trouble. Maybe he should wait until he could control himself…

But…

He needed to be out, in fresh air. His brothers would be there. He just… he had to go out eventually. Why not go out? If something happened, he'd stay in the Lair for another… what? Month? He had no idea how long it had been since he'd escaped Foot HQ.

Leo sighed, eyes closing. He nodded at his brother. "Yeah… I'll go," he said to his brother, smiling a bit.

Raph grinned. "Nice! You'll remember how much you love stopping the evil doers of the city!" he chuckled.

Leo's haziness suddenly vanished and he sat up. "Isn't that you, Raph?" he quipped with a smirk.

Raph blinked, then his grin returned. "Hell, yeah!"

Leo's smirk formed into a smile. He was going out. Maybe that was all he needed. Just some fresh air, the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Maybe stopping a robbery.

This might be fun.

* * *

Leo smiled as he and his brothers raced on the rooftops, laughing as they played Ninja Tag. Patrol had gone great so far; no sign of the Foot, and only a small robbery to stop. It was going great.

"Alright, alright, guys!" Raph called, and they slowed to a stop. "Let's split into groups! We'll cover more ground, and then we meet back here in 2 hours. Plan?"

Mikey and Don nodded, and they went off into their usual pairs (when the two eldest weren't fighting); Leo and Raph, and Don and Mike. Everyone was content with this, as these pairs fought together better if needed.

The pair ran their rounds over the course of an hour. They were soon only sitting on a ledge, looking down on an alley, neither really paying attention to their surroundings. They just sat there, neither really saying anything. Leo lay on the roof, looking at the sky, and Raph was next to him, looking into the alley below. For the first time in a while, Leo seemed… content. Happy, even. Genuinely happy. Not with that sadistic, twisted smirk on his face. Not when that… thing; whatever was inside Leo was controlling him. Just… Leo. Happy to look at what stars he could see on this unusually clear night.

"Hello, _Turtles_ ," a voice said from the neighboring rooftop, and Leo's head snapped over.

 _'No!'_ he thought immediately, jumping to his feet and drawing his swords, Raph right with him.

The latter stepped in front of his brother, spinning his sai and faking a smirk, internally taking account of every Foot soldier and any exits they had left.

Of course. They were surrounded. He should've kept a better eye out…

Nonetheless, the smirk didn't leave his face. "Wassup, punks?" His eye had a gleam in it. "Ready for an ass whoopin'?"

A few Foot soldiers looked at each other, one or two mumbling something. Then some of them parted, and a Foot Elite walked forward, holding out his trident to them. "Surrender, turtles, and you can go down without getting hurt."

Raph glanced back at his brother, who was shaking, and stepped closer to him. "Oh, man, if you think that we're just gonna lay on our shells and let you come at us, you're wrong!"

The Elite looked at the Foot Ninjas and made a signal with his head. They all took something out from behind their backs, and at a quick glance Raph realized that they were dart guns. "Move!" he yelled at Leo, pushing him to get him running. Leo obeyed without hesitation, hands shakily putting his swords back in their sheathes as he ran.

Raph heard the darts being fired and immediately shielded his brother. He wouldn't let him go back there, even if it meant he had to go himself.

He felt a prick in his leg, and then his neck, and immediately the drugs set in.

"Raph!" Leo yelled when he felt his brother slowing down. "C'mon, we can lose them! Just stay awake!" Tears gathered in his eyes as he pulled his brother's arm.

"Just go, Leo…!" Raph cried, eyes rolling back in his head and then snapping back. He couldn't stay awake any longer…

"Raph, please, just… I can't… I can't lose you! I can't let this happen!" Leo pleaded, tears rolling down his face as he tried to pull his brother. Raph was on the ground now, and Leo was kneeling with him, trying to stand him back up. The Foot were coming towards them, almost taunting them in their slowness.

Leo's doppelganger suddenly appeared, and Leo's eyes widened as he let out a sob. He couldn't deal with this right now. He needed to get home, or to Don and Mike. He couldn't go back, couldn't let Raph go because he hadn't paid attention to their surroundings.

 _"Nighty night, Leonardo,"_ his doppelganger smirked at him, and Leo's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed on top of Raph, unconscious.

* * *

 _Hhhhhng! My babies! I'm sorry that this took so long again, but I'm working on Getting Him Back right now and that SHOULD be up in a few days! Hopefully! :D Please leave a review, they mean a lot to me!_

 _Shadow_


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